State Facts - Find the state bird, tree, gem, motto and more plus a Brief history of Alabama
Brief history of Alabama
Indian Tribes: Native American Indians that once inhabited Alabama are: Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws. The Great Burial Mounds (Pre-Columbian) are located at Moundville near Tuscaloosa AL.
First permanent settlement in the state was French at Ft Louis in 1702.
First African Americans arrived via slave ship in 1719 at Dauphin Island.
Alabama was made a US Territory in 1817 and a state in 1819.
Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861 and rejoined the Union in 1868. There are many Ante Bellum Plantation museums with civil war artifacts throughout the state.
Birmingham is famous for steel production as well as for the civil rights movement. The Birmingham 9 were the first black students to go to an all white school.
Montgomery is where the bus boycott during civil rights movement took place.
State facts
Alabama's State Flag picture
Nickname: Heart of Dixie, "Yellowhammer State"
State Motto: Latin: Audemus jura nostra defendere, translated: We Dare Defend Our Rights
State Bird: Yellowhammer
State Game Bird: Wild Turkey
State Flower: Camellia (Latin name: Camellia japonica)
State Tree: Southern longleaf pine (Latin: Pinus palustris)
Abbreviations: AL ALA
The USS Alabama is a WWII battleship that is docked at Mobile.
The capital of the state is Montgomery. Other major cities are Mobile and Birmingham.
Largest City: Birmingham
Major Rivers - Tombigbee River, Alabama River, Tennessee River, Chattahoochee River
Major Lakes: Guntersville Lake, Wilson Lake, Martin Lake, West Point Lake, Lewis Smith Lake
Highest Point - Cheaha Mountain - 2407 feet, (734 m) above sea level
State University campuses are located at: Auburn, Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa.
The NASA space and rocket center is located at Huntsville.
Talladega hosts NASCAR races.
The average annual temperature is 60 degrees.
