II.

Land and Resources

The 30th largest state in the United States, Alabama has an area of 135,293 sq km (52,237 sq mi) and is roughly rectangular in shape; its extreme dimensions are 533 km (331 mi) from north to south and 338 km (210 mi) from east to west.

A.

Physical Geography

The state comprises the East Gulf Coastal Plain in the south and north-west; the Black Belt in the centre, and the Cumberland Plateau in the north. Soils are mainly clays and sandy clays, though there are also limestone-derived dark clays, limestone, alluvium and swamp, and marshland. Major mountains include Lookout, Colvin, and Talladega, and the Beaver Creek range.

Main rivers include the Mobile, Alabama, Tombigbee, Chattahoochee, and Tensaw. Principal tributaries of the Alabama River include the Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Cahaba rivers; and the Black Warrior River is the chief affluent of the Tombigbee River. Alabama’s large lakes include Lakes Guntersville, Wheeler, and Wilson, on the Tennessee River; Weiss Lake, on the Coosa River; and Walter F. George Reservoir, on the Chattahoochee River.

B.

Climate

The average annual temperature ranges from 15.6° C (60° F) in the north to about 21.1° C (about 70° F) near the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded temperatures in the state have ranged from -32.7° C (-27° F), in 1966, to 44.4° C (112° F), in 1925, although very low or very high temperatures are unusual. The area near the Gulf is subject to occasional hurricanes in the summer months.

C.

Plants and Animals

Forests cover about 65 per cent of the total land area of Alabama. A warm, humid climate, with a long growing season, has helped to produce more than 125 tree varieties and more than 150 species of shrubs.

Mammals and birds include Virginia deer, muskrat, coypu, beaver, flicker (or yellowhammer, the state bird), bluebird, cardinal, blue jay, and mockingbird. Reptiles include snakes, alligators, turtles, and lizards. Fish abound; chief varieties include catfish, bream, bass, crappie, mullet, flounder, and tarpon.

D.

Resources, Products, and Industries

Among the major mineral deposits are coal, located mainly in the northern half of the state, and oil and natural gas, found principally in the East Gulf Coastal Plain. Natural gas production grew in Alabama throughout the 1990s, becoming the state's second most valuable mineral product. The state also has substantial deposits of limestone, iron ore, sand and gravel, bauxite, and clay. Alabama is in the Black Belt, an area of rich black soil, where cotton was long the main crop. Peanuts are now the principal crop, though soya beans, cotton, hay, and greenhouse products are also important.

Leading industries include clothing and textiles, transport equipment, primary metals, and paper and paper products. Other major manufactured products include industrial machinery, processed foods, and rubber and plastic products.