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View of Dauphin Island Bridge across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

Dauphin Island Bridge, officially Gordon Persons Bridge, connects Mobile County across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway with Dauphin Island.
Image: Brian Hancill

___ Reference Maps of Alabama (AL)

About Alabama

Time zones
most of the state lies within Central Time
Clock shows Central Time DST

Where in the United States is Alabama? Location map of Alabama in the US.

Alabama is one of the 50 states in the US, located in the Southeastern United States between Mississippi and Georgia. It borders Tennessee in north along the 35th parallel north, and Florida in south, a small lobe of Alabama's southwestern land reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

Indigenous peoples had lived along the rivers in the area of what is today Alabama for thousands of years. The first Europeans who visited the area were Spanish explorers in the mid 16th century. One and a half century later, the land was colonized by settlers from France, who founded the first European settlement at Old Mobile (Fort Louis de La Louisiane). The region became part of Britain in 1763 and passed to the US in 1783. Statehood since 14th December 1819, as the 22nd state.

Area

Topographic Regions Map of Alabama. Click on the map to enlarge.

The state occupies an area of 135,767 km² (52,420 sq mi) ^[1] making it somewhat larger than Greece (131,957 km²). Compared with other US states by area, Alabama is 6 times larger than New Jersey, but it would fit into Texas about 5 times. Nearly 70% of Alabama's area is covered by forest.

Alabama's Landscape
Alabama's Landscape offers 5 major physiographic regions, all areas are sections of the far greater geographic regions of the Eastern and Southeastern United States:

I. The Highland Rim section in north west is the southern portion of the Appalachian Highlands.

II. To the south east of the rim rises the dissected tableland of the Cumberland Plateau (aka Allegheny Plateau), the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau.

III. Further south east stretches out the belt of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley, a region with ridges along valleys in between, like the Red Mountain ridge that separates the Jones Valley from the Shades Valley south of Birmingham (AL).

IV. Between the Ridge and Valley area and the Atlantic Seaboard fall line dominates the Piedmont Upland Alabama's landscape, a triangular shaped area with rolling hills in the central eastern part of the state.

Cheaha Lake at base of Cheaha Mountain, Alabama

Cheaha Lake at base of Cheaha Mountain, highest point in Alabama at 735 m (2,413 ft).
Image: Amann09

V. The Coastal Plain Province of Alabama is the largest geographic region (about 60%) in the state, mostly flat but here and there it offers some change in the landscape with some rounded and eroded hills, cuestas, flatwoods, and the floodplains of the Alabama and Black Warrior Rivers. ^[2]

Rivers
Principal rivers in Alabama are the Coosa River which becomes the Alabama River, which is fed by its tributaries the Tallapoosa, and the Cahaba river. When the Tombigbee River joins the Alabama the river change its name to Mobile River.
The Tennessee River, the largest tributary of the Ohio River traverses Alabama in north. The Chattahoochee River forms part of Alabama's border with Georgia. The Black Warrior River contains the largest drainage area entirely within Alabama’s borders.

Lakes

Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island, Alabama. The massive brick fort at the eastern tip of the island was built in the in 1820s. It is one of what were once three forts guarding the entrance to Mobile Bay.
Image: Edibobb

Major lakes are Lake Guntersville, a reservoir along the Tennessee River is Alabama's largest lake; Wheeler Lake, Alabama's second largest lake is a man-made lake along the Tennessee River; Walter F. George Lake (aka Lake Eufaula), a reservoir formed on the Chattahoochee River along the state line between Alabama and Georgia. Lake Martin, a reservoir along the Tallapoosa River, and Pickwick Lake, another reservoir along the Tennessee River, Lewis Smith Lake, a reservoir, on the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River.

Mountains
In the north eastern corner of the state is the Sand Mountain, a sandstone plateau, part of the southern tip of the Appalachian mountain chain. Highest point in Alabama is Mount Cheaha with 735.5 m (2,413 ft) located in Cheaha State Park ^[3].

Population

Alabama State Capitol Grounds in Montgomery, the state capital

Rendered image of Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, the state's capital. The Greek Revival style building houses the Alabama Legislature.
Image: Google

Alabama has a population of 4.88 million people (2018 est.) ^[4]; state capital is Montgomery, largest city is industrialized Birmingham. Other major cities are, Mobile, a major port and the Cotton state's oldest city; Huntsville, Alabama's largest city by land area; and Tuscaloosa, which served as Alabama's capital city from 1826 to 1846.
Busiest airport in the state is Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, (IATA code: BHM).

Cities and Towns in Alabama

The map shows the location of following cities and towns in Alabama:

Largest cities in Alabama with a population of more than 100,000:

City of Mobile Alabama, Fort Conde, in background the RSA–Trustmark Building and the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel

Mobile Alabama. A corner bastion sentry box of Fort Conde, in background the RSA–Trustmark Building and the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel.
Image: James Willamor

Birmingham (212,000), Montgomery (200,000), Mobile (193,000), Huntsville (193,000), Tuscaloosa (99,550)
(Population figures estimates of 2016)

Other cities and towns in Alabama:

Alexander City, Andalusia, Anniston, Athens, Atmore, Auburn, Bay Minette, Bessemer, Brewton, Butler, Camden, Centreville, Chickasaw, Clanton, Cullman, Daphne, Decatur, Demopolis, Dothan, Elba, Enterprise, Eufaula, Evergreen, Fairfield, Fayette, Florence, Fort Payne, Gadsden, Greenville, Gulf Shores, Guntersville, Haleyville, Hamilton, Hartselle, Homewood, Hoover, Jackson, Jasper, Lanett, Luverne, Madison, Marion, Opelika, Opp, Ozark, Phenix City, Prattville, Prichard, Roanoke, Russellville, Scottsboro, Selma, Sylacauga, Talladega, Thomasville, Troy, Tuscaloosa (fifth most populous city in Alabama with 90,000 people), Tuskegee, and Union Springs.

The detailed map below is showing the US state of Alabama with boundaries, the location of the state capital Montgomery, major cities and populated places, rivers, streams and lakes, interstate highways, principal highways, and railroads.