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

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

Alabama adopted new voting systems, such as cumulative voting and limited voting, in several jurisdictions. These changes resulted in more proportional representation and increased the number of African Americans and women elected to local offices.

The name of the Alabama River and state is derived from the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river.

Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in Alabama for thousands of years before European colonization. These included tribes involved in trade with northeastern tribes by the Ohio River during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BCE – 700 CE) and ...Read more

Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. It is also known as the “Heart of Dixie” and the “Cotton State.”

Snowfall is less frequent along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, sometimes going several years without any snowfall.

Alabama remained chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton. The state constitution of 1868 created Alabama’s first public school system and expanded women’s rights. Legislators funded public road and railroad projects, despite allegations of fraud and misappropriation.

After seceding, Alabama joined the Confederate States of America, and the Confederacy’s capital was initially at Montgomery. Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the war effort, though few battles were fought in the state.