ENCYCLOPÆDIA Britannica DISCOVER AMERICA Alabama The Heart of Dixie CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO
INTRODUCTION Alabama is a state of fascinating places and friendly people The landscape offers a beautiful mix of expansive forests sandy coastal plains and bountiful farmlands The land has always played an important role in Alabama’s economy The state once depended primarily upon the cotton industry but over the years agriculture has expanded into other areas Today Alabama produces a wide variety of crops such as soybeans peanuts and melons Industry plays an important role as well Alabama’s abundance of natural resources provides the state with many economic opportunities The ground yields valuable minerals while the rivers provide important transportation routes and can be harnessed to produce hydroelectricity The Jasmine Hill garden and outdoor museum was created in the 1920s as a tribute to classical Greek art and culture It was closed to the public in 2002 4 ALABAMA Alabama’s beautiful Mobile-Tensaw Delta is home to more than 50 rare and endangered plants and animals Although Alabama has no official nickname it is commonly referred to as the Heart of Dixie It is also sometimes referred to as the Yellowhammer State which comes from the uniforms worn by Alabama soldiers during the American Civil War The uniforms had yellow trim that resembled the yellow patches on the wings of the yellowhammer bird Other Alabama nicknames include the Cotton State the Cotton Plantation State and the Camellia State Alabama’s motto since 1939 has been We Dare Maintain Our Rights
INTRODUCTION 5 Alabama is located in the southeastern United States also known as the Deep South 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 The Gulf Coast stretches along the Gulf of Mexico The Birmingham International Airport is the busiest in the state Other large airports can be found in Huntsville Mobile and Montgomery Amtrak offers train travel through several Alabama cities while Greyhound provides bus service across the state Three interstate highways pass through Birmingham I-20 I-59 and I-65 Highway I-10 runs through Mobile along the southern edge of the state About 93,000 miles of highway cover the state Alabama Location Map Capital Montgomery Interstate highways 0 0 30 48 60 96 Mi Km Scale Population 4,447,100 Size 51,718 square miles Highest peak Cheaha Mountain 2,407 feet The Birmingham International Airport handled about three million passengers in 2000 Alabama’s state flag was adopted in 1895 It consists of a crimson cross of St Andrew on a white background The flag of the Confederate States of America was designed in Alabama in 1861 The city of Mobile on the Gulf Coast is one of the most important seaports in the United States Mobile is located on the Intracoastal Waterway a 3,000-mile shipping route that connects the Southern states with states along the East Coast When Birmingham’s airport opened in 1931 it took 19 hours to fly from Birmingham to Los Angeles Modern jet travel has cut that flight time substantially
