Alabama

The Yellowhammer State Established 1819, 22nd State

Climate

Average Seasonal High and Low Temperatures # Spring: 74/54°F # Summer: 90/71°F # Fall: 76/56°F # Winter: 57/39°F

Geography

Alabama is diverse: you can find swamps and alligators in one place and pine-covered hills and black bears in another. The short piece of coast (52 miles, or 83 km) has sandy beaches and swampy wetlands. This is the edge of the Gulf Coastal Plain, a flat region covering much of the state. As the Plain goes north, it gets hilly and runs into the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast. In the middle of the Plain lies the Black Belt, where the rich soil is perfect for farming. Alabama also has many big rivers. Barges and boats travel along the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers to transport goods across the state. From north to south, Alabama runs 321 miles (530 km); from east to west it runs 210 miles (338 km). In all, Alabama covers 52,423 square miles (135,775 sq km).

Resources and Economy

Alabama's economy relies on agriculture, including cotton, soybeans, peanuts, pecans, and sweet potatoes. Dairy and poultry products are important as well. Abundant timber (forests cover about two-thirds of Alabama) provides paper and wood products. More than one hundred tree species can be found, including bamboo. Water is everywhere, and Alabamians use it for crops and farming, for boating and fishing, and for hydroelectric power. Water also cools Alabama's nuclear power plants. Scientific research in the state helps improve medical and aerospace technology. In manufacturing, Alabamians produce plastics, paper products, textiles, and automobiles. Iron and steel are also important industries in the state. Oil is found on the Gulf Coast.

Population

4,627,851

Government

Capital:
State Abbreviation: AL
Governor: Bob Riley (Republican)
U.S. Senators: 2
Jeff Sessions (Republican)
Richard Shelby (Republican)
U.S. Representatives: 7
    Republicans: 5
    Democrats 2
State Senators: 35
State Representatives: 105
Counties: 67

Fun Facts

* One of the largest motorcycle museums in the United States is located in Birmingham. * The town of Enterprise has a monument to the boll weevil, a beetle that killed 90 percent of the cotton harvest in 1915. * Northern Alabama, along with parts of Georgia and Tennessee, almost became a separate state before the Civil War. It was going to be called Nick-a-Jack. * George Washington Carver, a former slave who became a research scientist, discovered three hundred uses for peanuts, including peanut butter! * The Marshall Space Center in Huntsville is where scientists developed the rocket that took U.S. astronauts to the moon. * Montgomery was the first capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War. * Four species of poisonous snakes live in Alabama: rattlesnake, coral snake, water moccasin, and copperhead. * A world-record 111-pound blue catfish was caught in Lake Wheeler in 1996. * Alabama is home to the dismalite, or glowworm, a very rare insect that glows in the dark. Alabama is the only place in North America where these glowworms exist.