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

An 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican proposed that “Alabama” meant ‘Here We Rest’, a notion popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek.

Alabama has diverse geography, with the north dominated by the mountainous Tennessee Valley and the south by Mobile Bay, a historically significant port.

Alabama has areas administered by the National Park Service, including:Horseshoe Bend National Military Park near Alexander City Little River Canyon National Preserve near Fort Payne Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site ...Read more

By 1903, only 2,980 African Americans were registered to vote in Alabama, despite at least 74,000 being literate. This was a sharp decline from the more than 181,000 eligible to vote in 1900.

The northern part of Alabama, along the Tennessee River Valley, is most vulnerable to tornadoes.

North Alabama is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.

The largest city in Alabama by population and area is Huntsville.