Central Alabama is a region in the state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. It is sometimes considered part of North Alabama because both regions are mountainous, but in some definitions they are different regions. The Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachians consist mainly of long, low ridges such as Red Mountain, Sand Mountain, Beaver Creek Mountain,

Shades Mountain Shades Mountain is a cuesta in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. The mountain is bordered by Shades Crest Road to the west, Highway 150 to the south, Highway 280 to the east and Shades Creek to the north. It includes all of the neighbor ...

, and Coldwater Mountain in this region, and make impressive backdrops in the Greater Birmingham, Gadsden, and Anniston metropolitan areas. The easternmost part of Central Alabama around Anniston has the steepest mountains and highest elevations of the region. Coldwater Mountain and Mount Cheaha make up the highest of the mountain ridges that are located in the eastern portion of the region. The

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 201 ...

divides the easternmost portion of the region from the central portion with the Birmingham area. The westernmost portion of Central Alabama is relatively a flat region with fertile black soil called the Black Belt. The

Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the ...

and its tributaries contribute to the fertile land of the area, and also serve as a demarcation line between the western and the central portions of the region. The central portion of Central Alabama varies from rugged in the east to flat in the west. Numerous valleys are scattered throughout this region between the mountain ridges including the densely populated Jones Valley and Shades Valley. Because the central portion is more rugged compared to the westernmost portion of Central Alabama, it is also the most flood-prone.

Urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

has exacerbated the risk of flooding by increasing the proportion of land covered by hard surfaces, leading to greater

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

during storms. The Black Warrior, Cahaba, and Coosa Rivers and their tributaries are among the many waterways that wind their way through the region. Other major waterways that run through the area include Choccolocco Creek, Shades Creek, and the Little Cahaba River. Large deposits of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

, and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

are chief among the plentiful mineral resources found in the region. The coincidence of these three in close proximity was a major incentive for the rapid development of industry in the Birmingham District after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

Economy

The economic engine of the region ranges from the diversified economy of Greater Birmingham, to the college town of Tuscaloosa, to the heavily industrialized economy of Anniston and Gadsden. The primary economic center of the region is Greater Birmingham because of its size and diversified economy. It is home to the state's most diversified employer, the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

(UAB). UAB is not only the state's largest single employer with some 20,000 employees on its payroll, but also one of the largest medical districts in the Southeast. In addition, most of the state-based corporations such as Alabama Power, Energen Corporation, HealthSouth Corporation,

Regions Financial Corporation Regions Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail banking and commercial banking, trust, stockbrokerage, and mortgage services. Its banking subsidi ...

Saks Incorporated Saks, Inc. (originally Proffitt's, Inc.) was an American holding company founded in 1919. Before acquisition by the Canadian-founded Hudson's Bay Company in 2013, it held ownership of department store chains including New York City-based Saks Fi ...

, and Southern Research Institute have their world headquarters located in the area. Though the

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarte ...

and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

automotive production facilities are not technically located in any of the Greater Birmingham metropolitan counties, they are both considered as substantial contributors to its economy. Tuscaloosa is the retail business center of a several-county area in Alabama and nearby Mississippi, and is chiefly a university town. The city hosts the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...

's main campus as well as

Stillman College Stillman College is a private historically black Presbyterian college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It awards the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 17 disciplines/majors housed within three academic schools (Arts and Sciences, Busin ...

and Shelton State Community College. Other major components of the economy include government, health, and industry. The city's largest industrial employer is the

production facility located ten miles from the main part of the city next to Vance. Anniston and Gadsden are very similar in their heavily industrialized economies. Gadsden, however, is a river town so it has helped in building and creating a tourist industry to slight the blow of its declining primary industry. Gadsden is now home to many riverfront-based festivals that goes on throughout the year to boost its economy. Anniston, on the other hand, has also suffered a major blow on two fronts with the closings of

Fort McClellan Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, is a decommissioned United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million tr ...

and many iron smelting facilities in the 1990s. However, it has turned more towards military production at the

Anniston Army Depot Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) is a major United States Army facility for the production and repair of ground combat vehicles, overhaul of Small Arms Weapon Systems and the storage of chemical weapons, a.k.a. the Anniston Chemical Activity. The depo ...

with several government production contracts issued to this facility.

Important cities

* Anniston *

Alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

* Auburn *

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

* Bessemer * Calera * Clanton * Cullman * Gadsden *

Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 2016 ...

* Jemison *

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref ...

Montevallo Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city ...

* Montgomery * Pelham * Selma * Sylacauga * Tuscaloosa *

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

{{Coord, 33, 18, 36, N, 86, 47, 15, W, display=title Regions of Alabama