the northern part of the state, winters are not so mild. Northwest winds
bring cold snaps, but they are usually short and are followed by mild
weather.
Summer temperatures tend to be about the same over the state. The summer
is long, but extended heat waves are almost unknown. Along the coast the
hot days are relieved by frequent breezes blowing in from the Gulf of
Mexico. Nights are cool and comfortable even in midsummer. In the north,
summer temperatures are relieved by the higher altitudes and by cool forest
shade. Spring and autumn are long and delightful. Autumn extends from early
September to well after Thanksgiving.
THE LAND
LOCATION: Latitude—30° 13' N to 35" N
.Longitude—84" to 53' W to 88° 28' W.
Tennessee to the north, Mississippi on the west, the Florida panhandle and
the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Georgia on the east.
ELEVATION: Highest—Cheaha Mountain, 734 m (2,407 ft). Lowest—Sea level,
along the Gulf of Mexico.
LANDFORMS: Highlands (the Interior Low Plateau and the Appalachian
Highlands) in the northern part of the state; lowlands (the Gulf Coastal
Plain) in the south and west.
SURFACE WATERS: Major rivers—Tennessee; Tombigbee, with its main tributary,
the Black Warrior; Coosa and Tallapoosa, which join to form the Alabama;
Mobile, formed by the joining of the Alabama and the Tombigbee;
Chattahoochee. Major artificial lakes—Pickwick, Wilson, Wheeler, and
Guntersville, on the Tennessee River; Lay, Mitchell, Weiss, and Jordan, on
.the Coosa; Martin and Thurlow, on the Tallapoosa; Holt Reservoir on the
Black Warrior.
CLIMATE: Temperature—July average, about 27°C (80°F) statewide. January
average, about 7°C (44°F) in north, 12°C (53°F) in south.
Precipitation—Rainfall average, 1,350 mm (53 in); varies from 1,320 mm (52
in) in north to 1,730 mm (68 in) along the coast. Growing season—Varies
from about 200 days in north to 300 days in south.
Natural Resources
Leaders of the state like to say that Alabama has more natural resources
than any other area of its size in the world. These resources include
soils, minerals, forests, and water.
Soils. Alabama may be divided into several major soil areas. Along the
Coosa and the Tennessee rivers, there are valleys called limestone valleys.
The soils in these valleys are mainly red clay loams. They were formed by
the weathering of limestone rock. The soils of the Appalachian Plateau are
mainly sandy loams. Red sandy loams and clay loams cover much pf the
Piedmont Plateau. The soils of the Gulf Coastal Plain were formed from
sediment laid down in the oceans that once covered the plain. Most of these
soils are sandy loams or clay soils.
Long years of growing cotton and corn lowered the fertility of Alabama's
soils. The abundant rainfall also caused the topsoil to be washed away. In
many places, especially in the Piedmont Plateau and the Black Belt, farms
are now planted in grasses to improve the soil and provide pasture for
cattle.
Forests. About 60 per cent of all the land of Alabama is forested. Many
kinds of trees are found, but the soft pine is the most common. It is also
the most valuable for wood pulp, which is used for making paper. The pine
forests grow mainly in the central and southern parts of the state.
To improve worn-out soils, farmers have developed many tree farms for
future harvest. Paper companies, farmers, and the government all help in a
continuing program of reforestation.
Minerals. Most of Alabama's minerals are in the northern half of the
state. Coal and iron ore are found in the Appalachian Plateau and in the
Ridge and Valley Region. One of the largest deposits, or fields, of coal is
the Warrior field. It extends through all of Walker County and parts of
Fayette, Tuscaloosa, and Jefferson counties. Some of the best beds of iron
ore are in the Birmingham area.
Limestone occurs in the Tennessee Valley and in the Ridge and Valley
Region, as well as in areas of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Marble is found in
Coosa and Talladega counties.
Petroleum is the most important mineral of the Gulf Coastal Plain. It has
been found in the extreme southwestern counties. There are important salt
deposits north of Mobile. Henry and Barbour counties, as well as other
parts of the state, have deposits of bauxite, a claylike mineral from which
aluminum is obtained.
| POPULATION |
|TOTAL: 3,893,888 (1980 census). Density—29.6 |
|persons to each square kilometer (76.7 persons |
|to each square mile). |
|GROWTH SINCE 1820 |
|Year Population |
|Year Population |
|1820 127,901 |
|1920 2,348,174 |
|1860 964,201 |
|1960 3,266,740 |
|1880 1,262,505 |
|1970 3,444,354 |
|1900 1,828,697 |
|1980 3,893,888 |
|Gain Between 1970 and 1980—13.1 percent |
|CITIES: Fifteen of Alabama's cities have a |
|population of more than 25,000 (1980 census). |
|Birmingham 284,413 Prichard 39,541 |
|Mobile 200,452 Florence 37,029 |
|Montgomery 177,857 Bessemer 31,729 |
|Huntsville 142,513 Anniston 29,523 |
|Tuscaloosa 75,211 Auburn 28,471 |
|Dothan 48,750 Phenix City 26,928 |
|Gadsden 47,565 Selma 26,684 |
|Decatur 42,002 |
Waters. Alabama's water is one of its most valuable resources. The
supply is abundant. Mainly it is soft, pure water that does not require
treatment before being used in homes and industries.
Hydroelectric plants line the Coosa, Talla-poosa, Tennessee,
Chattahoochee, and Black Warrior rivers. Along the rivers there arc also
steam power plants, fed by Alabama's coal. Additional plants are now being
built or planned. They will provide ample power for years to come.
Wildlife. Alabama has more than 300 species of birds. Among the largest
are bald eagles, hawks, ospreys, and wild turkeys, ducks, and geese.
Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, and white-tailed deer are found in
most of the state, and black bears in some areas. Fresh-water fish include
bass, perch, bluegill, and trout. Some fisheries have been closed by
mercury pollution.
In 1955 the tarpon was named the state salt-water fish. It is a big
fighting fish found in the warm, blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It has
no commercial value. The main products of the sea fisheries are shrimp,
oysters, and crabs.
THE PEOPLE AND THEIR WORK
There are very few foreign-born people living in Alabama. The majority
are descend
ants of European settlers who came to the area in colonial times. About one
third of the people are blacks whose ancestors were brought to the South as
slaves. Among the people of Indian heritage, the most active organized
group is the Creek Nation East of the Mississippi, at Atmore.
In 1960, for the first time, more Alabam-ians lived in cities than in
rural areas. The number of persons who work on farms has dropped steadily
since the 1940's. And the number who work in manufacturing and other kinds
of jobs has continued to grow.
Industries and Products
For some time the value of products manufactured in Alabama has been far
greater than the value of livestock and crops and of the different kinds of
minerals that are produced in the state.
Manufacturing. The mast important industries are the ones that manufacture
metals, textiles, chemicals, and forest products. Many of the industries
make use of Alabama's own raw materials.
The areas around Birmingham and Gadsden are the only places in the nation
where iron ore, coal, and limestone are found close together. These are
basic raw materials needed in the making of steel. About 90 percent of all
the steel making in the South is carried on in Alabama, mostly in and
around Birmingham, Anniston, and Gadsden. New factories that make products
from iron and steel continue to spring up throughout the state, mainly
along the water routes.
Around Mobile, as well as in other areas, there are plants that extract
aluminum from bauxite. These plants provide metal for factories in the
Tennessee Valley that make aluminum products. A large copper-tubing plant
at Decatur, on the Tennessee River, is a new development for Alabama.
The textile industry produces yarn and thread, woven fabrics, clothing,
and other goods. Textile mills are spread throughout the state.
WHAT ALABAMA PRODUCES
MANUFACTURED GOODS: Primary metals, paper and related products, chemicals
and related products, fabricated metal products, textiles, rubber and
plastic products, clothing, processed foods.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: Broilers, cattle and calves, soybeans, eggs,
peanuts, cotton, milk.
MINERALS: Coal, petroleum, natural gas. Iron ore, cement, stone, sand and
gravel, lime.
Many of the chemical industries make use of coal tar, a tar that is left
from the process of making coke. Some of the by-products of coal tar are
medicines, explosives, dyes, and plastics. The salt deposits near Mobile
provide raw material for the making of chlorine products, such as bleaches,
