Parks and Forests

Alabama has four national forests. The Talladega National Forest has two sections, one in the central part of the state and the other in the east. The William B. Bankhead National Forest, formerly the Black Warrior National Forest, is in the northwest. The Tuskegee, smallest of the national forests, is in the east, and the Conecuh is in the south.

State parks and forests total about 30. They are planned to conserve the natural beauty of the state and to provide places where people may go for outdoor recreation—picnicking, camping, hiking and nature study, fishing and other water sports.

Other Attractions

The following are among other places that attract visitors from all over the nation and the world:

Ave Maria Grotto, at St. Bernard, near Cull-man, displays more than 100 small reproductions of famous religious buildings of the world.

The Azalea Trail, in Mobile, is a 55-kilometer (35-mile) trail of flowers that leads through residential parts of the city, past historic homes and buildings.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home, south of Mobile, is a beautifully "landscaped estate. Here the finest flowers, shrubs, and trees have been brought together in a setting of great natural beauty. The home is noted for its rich furnishings and priceless art objects.

Cathedral Caverns, north ofGuntersville, contains a large forest of stalagmites and one cavern 27 meters (90 feet) deep.

Ivy Green, in Tuscumbia, is Helen Keller's birthplace and childhood home.

Vulcan Statue, at the summit of Red Mountain, Birmingham, is a statue of the god of fire. It was made of iron from the local area and is said to be one of the largest statues in the world.

Annual Events

Many of Alabama's annual events center upon sports, the products of the state, and the interests and traditions of the people. From the early French settlers. Mobile inherited the celebration of Mardi Gras. Mobile's Mardi Gras festival is the oldest such celebration in the United States. It begins on the Friday before the first day of Lent and reaches its high point on the night of Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.

Mobile celebrates the azalea season from late February to early April, when thousands of visitors tour the Azalea Trail. The Deep-Sea Fishing Rodeo, at Mobile and Dauphin Island, climaxes the fishing season, usually late in July or early in August.

Other events include the state fair at Birmingham, in September, and the River Boat Regatta at Guntersville, in August.

CITIES

No one region claims all or most of the cities. Large cities are found in each part of the state—central, north and south.

Montgomery

Besides being the capital, Montgomery is a center of agricultural trade and the leading cattle market of southeastern United States. The large ranches and herds of cattle in the area remind one of Texas. Industries of the city include textile mills, meat-packing plants, and furniture factories.

Montgomery has several institutions of higher education, including Alabama State University, campuses of Troy State and Auburn universities, and Huntingdon College, a private senior college. The Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base is a national center for research and for education and training of U.S. Air Force personnel.

Birmingham

Alabama's largest city is located at the southern end of the Ridge and Valley Region. It is sometimes called the Magic City because of its rapid growth. Since it was founded in 1871 as the town of Ely ton, it has grown into a metropolitan area of about 850,000 people. It is the South's only major producer of iron and steel. The hundreds of other industries in the area manufacture such items as cast-iron pipe, heavy machinery, chemicals, textiles, and wood and paper products.

Birmingham is a leading educational and cultural center. It is also noted for mountain scenery and places of outdoor recreation.

Mobile

The second-largest city and only seaport is known as Alabama's Gateway to the World. It was founded by the French and was named for the Mobile Indians, who lived in the area. Today it is a busy industrial center with chemical plants, shipyards, and seafood industries. It is also a gracious and beautiful resort city, known for its flowers and ancient oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

Other Cities

The following are some of the other important cities:

Huntsville, now the Rocket City, was one of Alabama's first settlements. It remained a small farming community for more than 125 years. Its population was only 16,000 in 1950. About that time the Army began to develop a rocket and guided-missile center at the Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville. Thousands of scientists and other workers came to the area. So did dozens of new industries. Within 20 years Huntsville's population increased to more than 135,000. In 1960 a part of the arsenal was transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This part was named the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.

Tuscaloosa, the home of the University of Alabama, is located on the Black Warrior River at the edge of the Appalachian Plateau. Its name comes from the Indian words tuska, meaning "black," and lusa, meaning "warrior." The city's many industries include a large paper mill, a rubber-tire plant, textile mills, oil refineries, and plants that make metal products.

Gailstleii, northeast of Birmingham, is an important iron and steel center, as well as a distribution point for livestock and grain produced in the surrounding area.

Duthan, leading city of southeastern Alabama, is located in a rich farming area. The main crop is peanuts. Industries in the city manufacture such products as peanut oil, hosiery, and cigars.

GOVERNMENT

The legislative department of the state government is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The members of both bodies serve 4-year terms. An amendment to the state constitution, adopted in 1975, provided for annual legislative sessions, beginning in 1976. Before that, regular sessions had been held every other year.

The chief executive is the governor, who is elected by the people. The people also elect a lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor, and commissioner of agriculture and industry, as well as the members of the state board of education.

The highest state court is the supreme court. It consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices elected statewide for 6-year terms. The court of appeals is divided into two courts, one to hear civil appeals and one to hear criminal appeals. The major trial courts in Alabama are its numerous circuit courts.

GOVERNMENT

Capital—Montgomery. Number of counties—67. Representation in Congress—U.S. senators, 2; U.S. representatives, 7. State Legislature—Senate, 35 members; House of Representatives, 105 members;