Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $183,547 million (2012 U.S. Department of Commerce)
Key Industries: Agriculture (poultry, peanuts, cotton, grains, soybeans, peaches)
Iron and Steel production, paper, lumber, coal mining
Automobile manufacture
How Alabama got its name: The name Alabama comes from a Native American tribe that lived in the middle of the state. They named the local river the Alabama River and the state took its name from the river.
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Alabama State Symbols
State Nickname: Heart of Dixie
State Slogan: Share The Wonder; Stars Fell on Alabama (on its license plate); (formerly) The Heart of Dixie
State fish: Largemouth bass (fresh water), Fighting tarpon (salt water)
State tree: Southern Longleaf Pine
State mammal: Racking horse
State foods: Pecan, Blackberry
Becoming a State
Date admitted: Tuesday, December 14, 1819
Number admitted: 22
Prior Name: Alabama Territory
Postal Abbreviation: AL
The Geography of Alabama
Total Size: 50,744 sq. miles (source: 2003 Census)
Geographical Low Point: Gulf of Mexico at Sea Level (source: U.S. Geological Survey)
Geographical High Point: Cheaha Mtn. at 2,407 feet, located in the county/subdivision of Cleburne (source: U.S. Geological Survey)
Central Point: Located in Chilton County approx. 12 miles southwest of Clanton (source: U.S. Geological Survey)
Counties: 67 (source: National Association of Counties)
Bodies of Water: Gulf of Mexico, Tennessee River, Alabama River, Chattahoochee River, Coosa River, Weiss Lake, Martin Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Walter F. George Lake
Huntsville, Al is the home to Space Camp and the world's biggest Space museum.
Montgomery, Al was the capital of the Confederate States.
George Washington Carver lived in Alabama when he came up with peanut butter.
The Wright brothers started the first flight school in Alabama.
Fort Payne makes over 70 million pairs of socks a year. It's called the sock capital of the world.
The first electric trolley was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.
Baseball players Hank Aaron and Willie Mays were both born in Alabama.
The world's largest cast iron statue, called The Vulcan, is in Birmingham. It is 56 feet tall!
The football game between the University of Alabama plays Auburn University is one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. The game is named the Iron Bowl.
