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After the battle came the night. It was the night of March 27,  1814.  The
soldiers stretched wearily by the campfires. General Andrew Jackson  sat  in
his tent at Horseshoe Bend and thought of the great victory. At last he  had
broken the power of the Creek Indians. Hundreds of warriors lay dead in  the
sweeping bend of the Tallapoosa River.
  Across the river, deep in the forest, a man stood motionless and alone. He
was William Weatherford, also known as Red Eagle, a leader  of  the  Creeks.
He had escaped from the battle, and he would be hunted.
  Yet Red Eagle did not flee. He thought of the  Creek  women  and  children
hiding in the forest without food  or  protection.  He  sighed  and  made  a
decision. He would offer his life in exchange for food and  safety  for  his
people.
  Red Eagle crossed the dark river and stood  before  Jackson,  waiting  for
death. But Jack-son, admiring his courage, allowed Red  Eagle  to  leave  in
peace. Before long the Creeks and other tribes left  Alabama,  and  settlers
took the land.
  One of Alabama's nicknames, Heart of Dixie, comes from the fact  that  the
state is located in the heart, or center, of the South.  There  are  several
stories about the origin of the word  "Dixie."  Perhaps  it  came  from  the
French word dix, meaning "ten." This word was printed on $10 bills  used  in
the state of Louisiana before the Civil War. The bills were  called  dixies,
and the name Dixie, or Dixie Land, came to  be  used  for  all  the  cotton-
growing states.
  Alabama has a long history as a farming area. The Indians were  its  first
farmers. Long before European settlers came to the New  World,  the  Indians
cleared the thickets-thick growths of shrubs, bushes, and vines
—along Alabama's rivers and carried on agriculture. Then settlers  took  the
land, and fields of fluffy cotton  began  to  stretch  across  Alabama.  For
years the state was known as a land  of  cotton.  But  the  time  came  when
Alabama's farmers realized that it was not wise to depend on a single  crop.
They began to grow. many  different  kinds  of  crops  and  to  raise  hogs,
cattle, and chickens. Today leaders of the state say  that  Alabama's  farms
can produce enough foods to give every one of its citizens  a  well-balanced
diet without having to repeat a menu for 30 days.
  Roaring blast furnaces at Birmingham show that factories as well as  farms
are important in Alabama. Birmingham is  known  as  the  Pittsburgh  of  the
South because of its steel mills. It is the largest of Alabama's  industrial
cities. There are many others.
  The U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, located at Huntsville, took Alabama into
the space age. Here scientists worked on the Jupiter C rocket.  This  rocket
hurled the nation's first successful satellite  into  orbit.  Huntsville  is
also known for the Redstone III rocket and  the  Saturn.  The  Redstone  III
boosted the nation's first astronaut into outer space.  The  Saturn  enabled
U.S. astronauts to land on the moon. Later, the space shuttle was tested  at
Huntsville.
  The map on the state seal proudly displays  Alabama's  rivers.  They  have
always
been important for transportation. Dams in some of  the  rivers  have  great
power plants. These plants supply electric power  to  help  light  Alabama's
farms and cities and to run its factories. The dams also create  strings  of
sparkling lakes, where residents and visitors can  enjoy  fishing,  boating,
and other forms of recreation. Besides its rivers and lakes, Alabama  has  a
share of the Gulf of Mexico. Mobile, on beautiful Mobile Bay, is one of  the
important ports of the nation.
  Timber from the forest and fish from the sea add to Alabama's wealth. Many
of the people still grow cotton  and  corn,  but  agriculture  alone  is  no
longer the main concern of the state.
CAPITAL: Montgomery.
STATEHOOD: December 14, 1819; the 22nd state. SIZE: 133.915 km2  (51,705  sq
mi); rank, 29th.
POPULATION: 3.893,888 (1980 census); rank, 22nd.
ORIGIN OF NAME: From the Alibamu. or Alabamu. tribe of Indians,  members  of
the Creek Confederacy. The name may have come  from  words  in  the  Choctaw
language, alba ayamule, meaning "I clear the thicket."
ABBREVIATIONS: Ala.; AL.

NICKNAMES: Heart of Dixie, from its location in the center of the Deep
South. Yellowhammer State, from Civil Wa'r times, when troops from Alabama
were called Yellowhammers.
STATE SONG: "Alabama," by Julia S. Tutwiler; music by Edna Goeckel Gussen.
STATE MOTTO: Audemus jura nostra defendere (We " dare defend our rights).
STATE SEAL: A map of Alabama showing  the  bordering  states,  the  Gulf  of
Mexico, and the major rivers.
STATE COAT OF ARMS: The shield in the center contains the emblems of five
governments that have ruled over Alabama—France (upper left), Spain (upper
right), Great Britain (lower left), the Confederacy (lower right), and the
United States (center). The eagles on each side of the shield represent
courage. They stand on a banner that carries the state motto. The ship
above the shield shows that Alabama borders on water.
STATE FLAG A crimson field. cross of St. Andrew on a white.


                            THE LAND
  Alabama is one of the East South Central group  of  states.  It  could  be
called an Appalachian state or a  Gulf  state.  The  southern  end  of  the
Appalachian  Mountain  system  extends  into   Alabama   and   covers   the
northeastern part of the state. The  Gulf  of  Mexico  forms  a  small  but
important part of Alabama's southern border.

 Landforms
  Within the state of Alabama there are three major landforms. They are  the
Interior Low Plateau,  the  Appalachian  Highlands,  and  the  Gulf  Coastal
Plain. The Gulf Coastal Plain is the largest of the three regions.  It  lies
south of a line that begins in the northwestern corner of  the  state,  runs
southeastward through the city of Tuscaloosa, and continues to Phenix  City,
on the eastern border.
  The Interior Low Plateau enters Alabama from the state  of  Tennessee  and
covers a small area in the extreme northwest. The average elevation of  this
part of Alabama is 210 meters (700 feet). It is a region  of  knobby  hills,
cut through by the broad valley of the Tennessee River.
The Appalachian Highlands include three areas.  They  arc  the  Appalachian
Plateau, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, and the Piedmont Plateau.
The average elevation of the highlands varies from 150 to 200  meters  (500
to 700 feet), with most of the highest  points  in  the  Ridge  and  Valley
Region.
  The Appalachian Plateau, also known as the Cumberland Plateau, enters the
northeast corner of the state and extends southwest-ward. This  plateau  is
rather rugged. It has some good farmland, but  it  is  mainly  an  area  of
lumbering and mining.
  The Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region is  made  up  of  narrow  valleys
between steep mountain ridges. It is  known  for  its  mineral  riches  and
forests of oak and pine.
  The Piedmont Plateau is a wedge-shaped area southeast of  the  Ridge  and
Valley Region. It gets its name from the word pied-mont, which means "lying
at the base, or foot, of mountains." This region is generally  hilly,  with
some rolling land. The most rugged part is in the northwest,  where  Cheaha
Mountain rises to 734 meters (2,407 feet).
The Gulf Coastal Plain is mainly a flat to rolling plain. Ages ago  it  was
covered by oceans. The part adjoining the Appalachian
Highlands is called the Upper Coastal Plain. This is  the  oldest  part,  as
well as the highest in elevation. South of it is a  strip  of  nearly  level
land known as  the  Black  Belt  because  of  its  dark-colored  soils.  The
southeastern quarter of the state is known as the Wire  Grass  area  because
it was once covered with a kind of coarse grass called wire grass.
 For many years the Coastal Plain was the heart of the cotton fields. It is
changing gradually to an area  where  livestock  graze  and  many  different
crops are grown.

Rivers, Lakes, and Coastal Waters
  Alabama is drained by three major river systems. The Tennessee River  dips
down' into Alabama from the state of Tennessee. It flows  westward  through
northern Alabama and then northward to join the Ohio River. The other major
rivers of Alabama flow toward the Gulf of Mexico. The Mobile  River  system
is made up of several important rivers. The Tombigbee River  and  its  main
tributary, the Black Warrior River, drain the western part  of  the  state.
The Coosa and the Talla-poosa rivers flow through east central and  eastern
Alabama. They join near Montgomery to form the Alabama River,  which  flows
southwestward toward the Tombigbee. North of Mobile, the  Alabama  and  the
Tombigbee rivers join to form the Mobile River, which drains southward into
Mobile Bay. The Chat-tnhoochee is the major river of southeastern  Alabama.
Guntcrsvillc Lake is the largest of the many lakes in the state.
  The  Tennessee-Tombigbee  (Tenn-Tom)  Waterway  project  was  designed  to
provide a water route from the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf of  Mexico,  by
way of the Tombigbee River. It includes a canal in the northeastern  corner
of Mississippi that links the rivers.
  Alabama's general coastline on the Gulf of Mexico  is  85  kilometers  (53
miles) long. If the shorelines of inlets, bays, and  offshore  islands  are
added, the total shoreline is 977 kilometers (607 miles).

Climate
 People sometimes think of Alabama as an uncomfortably hot, tropical state,
but this impression is false. Actually, there is a wide variety  of  climate
from the highlands of the north to the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.
  Winter temperatures in the southern half of the state  rarely  drop  below
freezing. Snow is so rare that many children have never seen a snowfall.  In
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,
disinfectants,  and  water  purifiers.  At  Muscle  Shoals  in  northwestern
Alabama there is  a  federal  plant  where  fertilizers  and  munitions  are
developed for the benefit of agriculture and industry.
  Alabama ranks among the first five timber producers  in  the  nation.  The
forests supply lumber for furniture and other wood products as well as  wood
pulp for the paper industries. The first pulp and paper plant in  the  state
was built at Tuscaloosa in 1929. Other  cities  that  now  have  large  pulp
mills are Mobile and Brewton, in southern Alabama, and  De-mopolis,  in  the
western part of the state. Most of the pulp is made into  finished  products
such as newsprint, stationery, corrugated  boxes,  and  kraft  paper.  Kraft
paper is the strong brown paper used in grocery bags.
  Agriculture. In Enterprise, Alabama, there  is  a  monument  to  the  boll
weevil. It is perhaps the only monument in the world to an insect pest.  The
monument was erected in 1919 after the  boll  weevil  destroyed  the  cotton
crops. It reminds Alabama's farmers of the part that the boll weevil  played
in teaching them not to depend on cotton alone for their living.
  For a long time cotton ranked  first  among  Alabama's  crops,  but  today
cotton brings only a fraction of the total income from crops.  Alabama  also
produces  substantial  amounts  of  soybeans,  peanuts,  corn,  hay,   sweet
potatoes and other garden vegetables, and fruits and pecans. Some crops  are
identified with particular areas. Soybeans  are  grown  extensively  in  the
Black Belt and around Mobile Bay. Peanuts are a main crop in the Wire  Grass
area. Strawberries are grown commercially around Cullman in Cullman  County,
Clanton in Chilton County, and Georgiana in Butler County. Clanton  is  also
known for peaches. Truck farming is carried on in many areas.
  An interesting  fact  about  Alabama's  agriculture  is  that  since  1958
livestock sales have brought more  income  than  crops.  Cattle  are  raised
chiefly in the Black Belt and hogs in the Wire Grass area.  Poultry  raising
is concentrated north of Birmingham. Dairying is carried on  throughout  the
state.
Mining. Alabama is well-known  for  its  production  of  coal,  cement,  and
limestone. A number of other' minerals are produced  in  varying  quantities
including petroleum, iron ore, clays  and  shale,  mica,  sand  and  gravel,
bauxite, gold, silver, and manganese.  Marble  from  Alabama's  quarries  is
sold throughout the United States.
  The first producing oil well began operating near Gilbertown,  in  Choctaw
County,  in  1944.  Later,  oil  was  found  in  Escambia  County  and  near
Citronelle, in Mobile County. There arc more than  200  producing  wells  in
southwestern Alabama. In the northwest a large natural gas  field  is  being
developed.

Transportation and Communication
  Waterways, railroads, highways, and  airways  connect  Alabama  to  other
parts of tlic nation. The port of Mobile connects the state to the seaports
of the world.
  Waterways. Alabama has the finest river system in the  nation.  The  U.S.
Corps of  Engineers   classifies    large   portions    of  its  rivers  as
suitable for navigation. Millions of dollars have been spent to develop the
harbor and build docks at Mobile, to widen and deepen the channels  of  the
rivers, and to build public docks along the waterways.
  The Black Warrior and Tombigbee waterway extends all  the  way  from  the
 port of Mobile to Jefferson and  Walker  counties.  This  waterway  carries
 great quantities of limestone as well as millions of tons of cargo for  the
 industries of Birmingham and other cities along  the  rivers.  The  Alabama
 River provides water transportation between Mobile and  the  capital  city,
 Montgomery. The Tennessee  River  is  the  main  water  route  of  northern
 Alabama. The Chattahoochee waterway, on  the  east  border  of  the  state,
 serves the cities of Columbia, Eufaula, and Phenix City.
  Railroads and Highways.   Alabama was  among  the  pioneers  in  railroad
 building. Its  first  railway,  between  Decatur  and  Muscle  Shoals,  was
 completed in 1832. Today Alabama's railroads are used largely for  freight.
 Hubs of state, federal, and interstate highway systems are  Birmingham  and
 Montgomery.
  Airlines.   Several airlines provide  commercial  flights  to  cities  in
 

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