'JS ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA. 



in Alabama than anywhere else in the whole coastal 

 plain.) These strata vary greatly lithologically, espe- 

 cially in percentage of lime, but they do not affect the 

 soil as much as they do the topography, for they are 

 pretty well covered by a more homogeneous superficial 

 formation, presumably the Lafayette. This is mostly a 

 red loam, as usual, but eastward much of the surface is 

 covered with loose yellowish sand, which may be a later 

 formation, but is more likely a mere phase of the Lafay- 

 ette. The soils are very diverse, ranging from nearly 

 pure limestone on outcrops of the Midway formation to 

 barren quartz sands. Most of them seem to be a little 

 deficient in potash. The sandiness eastward may be cor- 

 related in some measure with the wetter summers in 

 those parts, as was suggested in the case of region no. 8. 



Topography and hydrography. — The topography is so 

 diversified that it would be out of the question to at- 

 tempt to describe all the numerous forms here. On the 

 average it is moderately hilly, with the valleys a little 

 swampy. The hills are usually somewhat broader than 

 the valleys, and in some places they spread out into pla- 

 teaus standing about 400 feet above sea-level, known lo- 

 cally as "red levels." In some of the more elevated areas 

 the valleys are narrow and ravine-like, with no swamps. 

 In Choctaw, Clarke and Monroe Counties the Buhrstone 

 rocks are very siliceous and have resisted erosion so long 

 that they form high rocky ridges, rising in some places 

 200 feet or more above the surrounding country, and 

 known locally as "mountains."* In Butler and Crenshaw 

 Counties can be seen another extreme of topography, flat 

 pine woods much like some of those considerably nearer 

 the coast. 



Most of the streams are sluggish and bordered by 

 swamps. The rivers are muddy most of the time, but 

 the creeks and branches are of course considerably less 

 so. Small springs are common enough, but large ones 

 are rare, and chiefly confined to the regions of Midway 



*The only I'ailroad tunnels in the coastal plain of the United 

 States, as far as known, are in these mountains, one in Monroe 

 County, and one in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, which adjoins 

 Alabama. 



See also Harper 6 (111). 



