IH I'LANT Lll'K OK ALAHAMA. 



ill lii> lioiioi' l»\ (iiMV. wliirli is (•()iiliii('<l (o m ^iip/lc Uviililv on tlio 

 Wanks of (lie AlalmiiKi K*i\ • r. 



Mole iTcciillv Diir know lr(lL;(' of the tloi'ii of Aliibiiiiia has )»0('n 

 «,T<'atly cni'icliid liy llif <'\l»'nsi\(' collections made liv Profs, I-'. S. 

 Kailc and L. M. I'lKlcrwood in ISIHI, and also l»y those made the fol- 

 jowinu- s|)i'inti- ii"d suniiiiei- l>y Professors Karle and Carl F. Baker. 



GENERAL PHYSIOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THE STATE. 

 TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.' 



Alaliania. cxtcndiiio- from the shoros of the (riilf of Mexico in hiti- 

 tiid<' ;')<> 'M' to the I'ini of th(^ hi<rhlaiids of 'rcnnessee under the 

 thirty-lifth parallel of latitude, presents two w(dl-inarke(l divisions 

 which nearly coincide with the northern and southern halves of the 

 State, and wiiich an; readily distinguished l>y climatic diffei'onces, 

 topoerapiiical features, and e-eolou-ical structure, and l»y the aspect of 

 the vegetation corresponding with these conditions. The upper or 

 noi'thern division emhracesthe mountainous region of the State, which 

 oU'eis great complexit}' in its geological formation, almost every 

 stratum of the various geological epochs being here represented. This 

 gives rise to gi-eater diversity of topography and soil than exists in 

 any othcM- of the (iulf Stat(\s, thus producing that variety of resources 

 wITkIi gi\('s Alaliania such a prominent position among her sister 

 States. 



'['he lower division, which occupies the southern half of the State, 

 can lie considei'ed as a vast plain of great iinifoi-mity in its general 

 featuri>s; gently undulating where the loose sedimentary strata of the 

 Post-Tertiary foi'uiations pr(\v;iil, and broken where the cherty ridges 

 of the Tertiary and Cretaceous rocks otl'ered greater resistance to 

 erosion by water. 



TIIK roASTAI- IM.AIN. 



The sivlimentary strata forming the Coastal plain cover three-fifths 

 of the area of the State. In the lower part, in ^Mobile and Baldwin 

 counties, this plain rises in gentle swells to 800 feet above the tide- 

 wtiter region, reaching at its northern limit an average elevation of 

 about 500 feet above the sea. For a distance of from 80 to 100 miles 

 from the seashore this plain is almost entirely covered with the man- 

 tle of sands and gravels of the Lafayette formation, the oldest of the 

 Post-T(>rtiarv strata, which give rise to soils varying from almost 

 pure sand to loamy sand and generous sandy loams, and support a 

 rather uniform but magnificent vegetation of coniferous trees. To 

 the north of these terrains appear the limestones and marls of the 



' Drawn chiefly from the Reports of the Geological Survey of Alabama, 1875 to 

 iwm, by K. A. Sinitli, State Geologist. 



