Alabama is 23rd in the amount of surface water in the United States.

Alabama has a coastline along the Gulf of Mexico on the extreme southern edge of the state.

About three-fifths of Alabama’s land area is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain, a gentle plain that descends towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Suburban Baldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in Alabama in both land area and water area.

Alabama’s land consists of 22 million acres (89,000 km²) of forest, which is 67% of the state’s total land area.

The elevation in Alabama ranges from sea level at Mobile Bay to 2,413 feet (735 m) at Mount Cheaha in the northeast.

Alabama is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida to the south, and Mississippi to the west.

Alabama has a range of habitats, including the Tennessee Valley, Appalachian Plateau, Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in the north, Piedmont, Canebrake, Black Belt in the central region, and Gulf Coastal Plain and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico in the south.

The 2011 tornado outbreak in Alabama resulted in 238 deaths and caused significant devastation to many communities across the state.