Discover Alabama

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Discover Alabama

• 4th grade
• Alabama History
• Chapter 1

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Objectives

• Social Studies 1. Identify historical and current
  economic, political, and geographic information
  about Alabama on thematic maps.
• TSWBAT Use different maps to locate the state of
  Alabama and name its border states.
• Identify the five major geographic provinces of
  Alabama and list characteristics of each.

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Where in the world is Alabama?
Alabama
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A Closer Look
States that border Alabama Florida
(FL) Georgia(GA) Tennessee (TN) Mississippi (MS)
Alabama
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What hemisphere do we live in?
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An even closer look
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Five Major Geographic Provinces

• Highland Rim
• Cumberland Plateau
• Ridge and Valley
• Piedmont
• Coastal Plain

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Highland Rim

• northwestern corner of Alabama
• this land is in the Tennessee River valley
• farms grow corn, cotton, and hay in this area.
• level plains of fertile soil and gently rolling
  hills.
• Charcoal from ancient campsites found in the
  region has been carbon dated back to more than
  10,000 years ago.

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Cumberland Plateau

• Steep canyons that are home to some cool-weather
  plants and trees that do not grow anywhere else
  in the state.
• Cumberland Plateau lies to the northwest of the
  Appalachian Ridge and Valley region.

Compass Rose
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Ridge and Valley

• Lies below Cumberland and includes Birmingham and
  Red Mountain.
• This region is comprised of sandstone ridges and
  fertile limestone valleys
• three ingredients for steel manufacture, coal,
  iron ore, and limestone are found in abundance in
  this area
• Birmingham is one of the steel industry capitals
  of the world.

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Piedmont

• Piedmont means foot of the mountains in French
• located in the eastern central section of
  Alabama(east of Birmingham)
• consists of low hills, ridges, and sandy valleys
• Coal, iron ore, limestone, and marble are found
  in this area of Alabama along with Cheaha
  Mountain, Alabama's highest point

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Coastal Plains

• Coastal Plain covers more than half the state.
• Border between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain
  is called the fall line.
• Divided into the Upper and Lower Coastal Plain
  Provinces.
• Upper Coastal Plains has a band of rich, dark
  soil known as the Black Belt. (one of the best
  places in the state to grow cotton.
• Lower Coastal Plain reaches from the Black Belt
  to the Gulf of Mexico.
• Lower Coastal Plains covered with longleaf pine,
  the state tree. Timber is one of the main crops
  of this area

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Black Belt and Fall Line
The border between the Piedmont and the Coastal
Plains is called the fall line. Rivers and
streams cross from higher land onto the flatter
plains, creating the waterfalls and rapids that
give the fall line its name.
A band of rich, dark soil that runs across
Alabama is known as the Black Belt.
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What did you learn?

• How many geographic regions are there in Alabama?
  
• Name the regions.
• In what geographic province is the Black Belt?
• What is the fall line?
• Mobile is located in which geographic province?
• Name the states that border Alabama.
• What hemisphere do we live in?