Information AboutAlabama |
The State of Alabama (/), is located in the Southern Region of the United States Of America . It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf Of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland waterways. The state ranks 23rd in population with almost 4.6 million residents in 2006.3. From the American Civil War until World War II , Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship. In the years following the war, Alabama experienced significant recovery as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and high technology. Today, the state is heavily invested in the aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication. __TOC__ Alabama is officially nicknamed the '' Yellowhammer state'', which is also the name of the State Bird . Alabama is also known as the " Heart Of Dixie ." The capital of Alabama is Montgomery , and the largest city is Birmingham (in Jefferson County ). ETYMOLOGY OF STATE NAME The Alabama , an Upper Creek Tribe which resided just below the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa River s on the upper reaches of the Alabama River ,4 , served as the Etymological Source of the names of the river and state. The word ''Alabama'' is believed to have originated from the Choctaw Language 5 and was later accepted by the Alabama as their name 6. The spelling of the word varies significantly between sources. The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando De Soto expedition of 1540 with Garcilasso de la Vega using ''Alibamo'' while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote ''Alibamu'' and ''Limamu'', respectively. As early as 1702 , the tribe was known to the French as ''Alibamon'' with French maps identifying the river as ''Rivière des Alibamons''. Other spellings of the appellation have included ''Alibamu'', ''Alabamo'', ''Albama'', ''Alebamon'', ''Alibama'', ''Alibamou'', ''Alabamu'', and ''Allibamou''.78 The use of state names derived from Indian Languages is common with an estimated 27 states having names of Indian origin.9 Although the origin of ''Alabama'' was evident, the meaning of the tribe's name was not always clear. An article without a Byline appearing in the Jacksonville Republican on July 27 , 1842 originated the idea that the meaning was "Here We Rest." This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek . Experts in the Muskogean Languages have been unable to find any evidence that would support this translation. It is now generally accepted that the word comes from the Choctaw words ''alba'' (meaning "plants" or "weeds") and ''amo'' (meaning "to cut", "to trim", or "to gather").10 This results in translations such as "clearers of the thicket" or even "herb gatherers"11 which may refer to clearing of land for the purpose of planting crops or to collection of medicinal plants by Medicine Men . GEOGRAPHY See Also: Geography of Alabama See Also: List of Alabama counties (right center) east of Birmingham .]] Alabama is the 30th largest state in the United States with 52,423 .12 Baldwin County , along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area. 13 About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle Plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.14 Another natural wonder in Alabama is "Natural Bridge" rock, the longest Natural Bridge east of the Rockies , located just south of Haleyville , in Winston County . Alabama generally ranges in Elevation from Sea Level , at Mobile Bay , to a little more than 1,800 Feet (550 m) in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast. The highest point is Mount Cheaha (''see map''), at an elevation of nearly 2405 ft (733 m). States bordering Alabama include Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has coastline at the Gulf Of Mexico , in the extreme southern edge of the state. National Parks in Alabama include Horseshoe Bend National Military Park in Daviston; Little River Canyon National Preserve in Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee ; and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee15 (east of Montgomery). Alabama also contains the Natchez Trace Parkway , the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail , and the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail . In showcase the eroded remains of the five mile wide impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka Crater or astrobleme ("star-wound") for the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock can be found beneath the surface."The Wetumpka Astrobleme" by John C. Hall, Alabama Heritage, Fall 1996, Number 42. In 2002, Christian Koeberl with the Institute of Geochemistry University of Vienna published evidence and established the site as an internationally recognized impact crater. "Wetumpka Impact Crater" Wetumpka Public Library, accessed Aug. 21, 2007. Urban areas See Also: List of Metropolitan areas of Alabama See Also: List of cities in Alabama Climate The 2007 ] Summers in Alabama are among the hottest in the United States, with high temperatures averaging over 90 °F throughout the summer in the entire state. Alabama is also prone to strikes by hurricanes. Even areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of hurricanes or tropical storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken. South Alabama reports more and Mississippi . The Super Outbreak of March, 1974, badly affected Alabama. The north of the state - along the Tennessee Valley - is one of the area's in the US most vulnerable to violent tornadoes. The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley , as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains. Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season (November and December) in addition to the Spring severe weather season. Winters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the Southeastern United States , with average January low temperatures around 40 °F in Mobile and around 32°F in Birmingham. Snow is a rare event in much of Alabama. Areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall. HISTORY See Also: History of Alabama
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