Nickname: Yellowhammer State
Area: 50 768 sq.mi. (131 483,336 km2)
Highest point: Cheaha Mountain 2 405 ft. (733 m)
Population: 4 376 700
Capital: Montgomery
Largest city: Birmingham

Alabama State is the member of the so called „Deep South” region. There are three other members: Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The more than 50 thousand square miles of land is split into two by the Mississippi River. It spreads from the Appalachian Mountain from the East to the Great-Plain in the West. It’s a sparsely populated region, and has agricultural characteristics with beautiful historical traditions and a sub-tropical climate.

Photo: Country, Alabama, USA, flickr.com, by beigeinside

Alabama is characterized by smaller forests and productive plains. It’s surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Florida from South and Tennessee from North. French settlers were the first to step on the lands of Alabama in the early 18th century. Later English settlers came, and completely displaced the native Indians till the early 19th century.

Photo: Little Canyon, Alabama, USA, flickr.com, by jimmywayne22
 

Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, was also the first capital of the Confederation of the Southern States in the civil war between 1861 and 1865. The first White House of the Confederation is also to be found here, which now became a museum. The city also played a significant role in the movements of the blacks for civil rights, by means of the complete black population got full qualified nationality. The Monument of Civil Rights is meant to be a memory of this in the city.
 
Photo;: State Capitol, Montgomery, Alabama, USA, flickr.com, by Hot Meteor

The largest city of the state is Birmingham, the former center of steel industry. The building of the old iron mill is now a museum, and is called the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. A 17 meter tall iron statue of the Roman God of Fire stands on the top of the Red Mountain, and is giving iron ore. It is worth to visit the Birmingham Museum of Arts, where one may find a splendid artistic collection.

Photo: Birmingham, Alabama, USA, flickr.com, by stephee

It’s also important to mention the city of Mobile, which is a quaint seaport in the Southern part of the state. It was one of the most important harbors of the Southern States during the civil war. The Mardi Gras Cottage Museum is to be found here, which worth a visit. And last, but not least, the city of Huntsville is also in Alabama, which is famous from movies, because the Space Center of the NASA is situated here.

Photo: Space Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, flickr.com, by Chrislrmo