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Alabama (formally, the State of Alabama; ) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. It became the 22nd state to enter the Union in 1819 and was the fifth state to secede in 1861 to form the Confederate States of America. Its capital, Montgomery, served briefly as the capitol of the Confederate States. Alabama is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland waterways. The state ranks 23rd in population with almost 4.6 million residents in 2006.

From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. White rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s, while urban interests and African Americans were underrepresented. In the years following World War II, Alabama experienced significant recovery as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and high technology, as well as the establishment or expansion of multiple military installations, primarily those of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. Today, the state is heavily invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication.

Alabama is unofficially nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, which is the name of the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie". The state tree is the Longleaf Pine, and the state flower is the Camellia. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery, and the largest city by population is Birmingham. The largest city by total land area is Huntsville. The oldest city is Mobile. Template:/box-footer

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Acer rubrum (Red Maple, also known as Swamp or Soft Maple), is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity it often attains a height of around 15.24 meters (50 ft). It is aptly named as its flowers, petioles, twigs and seeds are all red to varying degrees.

Though A. rubrum is usually easy to identify, it is highly changeable in morphological characteristics. It is a medium to large sized tree, reaching heights of 18 to 27 meters (60 to 90 feet) and exceptionally over 35 meters (115 ft). The leaves are usually 3 and 1/2 in. to 4 and 3/8 in. long on a full grown tree. The trunk diameter can range from 46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 inches). Over most of its range, red maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions, perhaps more so than any other tree in eastern North America. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor dry soils, and most anywhere in between. Elevation is also not a limiting factor in its range, as it grows well from sea level to about 900 m (3,000 ft). Due to its attractive fall foliage and pleasing form, it is often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production as well as for its medium to high quality lumber. It is also the State Tree of Rhode Island.

Russell Cave National Monument, Alabama

The Russell Cave National Monument is a U.S. National Monument in northeastern Alabama, United States, close to the town of Bridgeport. The Monument was established on May 11, 1961, when 310 acres (1.3 km²) of land were donated by the National Geographic Society to the American people. It is now maintained by the National Park Service. The National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

Wikinews Alabama portal

• March 4: Alabama Supreme Court orders judges to stop issuing same-sex marriage licences
• January 22: Perry out, Abbott in: Texas gets new governor
• December 20: Public health officials advise on rising flu levels in Texas 2013/2014 season
• April 29: Australian Jesse Williams drafted in fifth round by the NFL's Seattle Seahawks
• November 26: 18-year-old charged for Thanksgiving lesbian assault

Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006 as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol, which he won later that year. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two independent albums. Hicks graduated from Hoover High School in 1995 and briefly pursued a major in business and journalism at Auburn University.

Upon winning Idol, Hicks was signed to Arista Records, under which his self-titled major label debut was released on December 12, 2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from classic rock, blues, and R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans, who have been dubbed the "Soul Patrol." He is currently on tour in Grease playing Teen Angel, the role originated by Alan Paul. A new CD, The Distance, was released March 10, 2009, with the first single, "What's Right Is Right", going to AC adds January 27, 2009. The second single was confirmed to be "Seven Mile Breakdown" via his MySpace page.

• ... that country music singer Ty Herndon's grandmother Myrtle hosted a Gospel music radio show on WPRN and WPRN-FM in Alabama for more than 40 years?
• ... that Prairie Bluff, Alabama, (pictured) is a ghost town whose only remaining physical feature is a cemetery with marked graves dating from the 1830s to the 1860s?
• ... that a radio station in Evergreen, Alabama, made national headlines in 1992 when the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that state law allowed a disc jockey to be fired just because she is a woman?
• ... that Barton Academy in Mobile was the first public school in Alabama?

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• WikiProject Alabama

Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama

Big Spring International Park is located in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. It is most noted as being the site of the Panoply Arts Festival, held the last full weekend in April, and Big Spring Jam, an annual music festival that usually occurs on the fourth weekend in September.

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