Birmingham

Sister cities

• Plzeň
• Cobán
• Gweru
• Maebashi
• Rosh HaAyin
• Vinnytsia
• Székesfehérvár
• Anshan
• Pomigliano d'Arco

History

The Birmingham area was historically part of the territory of the Muscogee Confederacy. The most prominent Indigenous settlement in the area in the 19th century was the Upper Creek community of , meaning 'Crazy Town' in Muscogee, located in present-day Indian Springs Village. Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871, by the Elyton Land Company whose investors included cotton planters, bankers and railroad entrepreneurs. It was named for the English city of Birmingham, the United Kingdom's second largest city. Most of the original settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry. The Elyton Land Company sold lots near the planned crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads, including land formerly a part of the Benjamin P. Worthington plantation. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store operated by Marre & Allen. The site of the railroad crossing was notable for the nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone – the three main raw materials used in making steel. The Birmingham District is the only place worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity. From the start the new city was planned as a great center of industry. The founders, organized as the Elyton Land Company, borrowed the name of Birmingham, one of England's main industrial cities, to advertise that point. The growth of the planned city was impeded by an outbreak of cholera, and a Wall Street crash in 1873. However, it began to develop shortly afterwards at an explosive rate. In 1911, the town of Elyton and several other surrounding towns were absorbed into Birmingham. The start of the 20th century brought the substantial growth that gave Birmingham the nickname "The Magic City", as…

Geography

Birmingham occupies Jones Valley, flanked by long parallel mountain ridges (the tailing ends of the Appalachian foothills – see Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians) running from north-east to south-west. The valley is drained by small creeks (Village Creek, Valley Creek) which flow into the Black Warrior River. The valley was bisected by the principal railroad corridor, along which most of the early manufacturing operations began. Red Mountain lies immediately south of downtown. Many of Birmingham's television and radio broadcast towers are lined up along this prominent ridge. The "Over the Mountain" area, including Shades Valley, Shades Mountain and beyond, was largely shielded from the industrial smoke and rough streets of the industrial city. This is the setting for Birmingham's more affluent suburbs of Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, and Hoover. South of Shades Valley is the Cahaba River basin, one of the most diverse river ecosystems in the United States. Sand Mountain, a smaller ridge, flanks the city to the north and divides Jones Valley from much more rugged land to the north. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad (now CSX Transportation) enters the valley through Boyles Gap, a prominent gap in the long low ridge. Ruffner Mountain, located due east of the heart of the city, is home to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, one of the largest urban nature reserves in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and (1.34%) is water. Most of the metropolitan area lies outside of the city itself. According to the US Census Bureau, the Birmingham area consists of 7 counties and over 100 suburbs. The population of the area as of the 2020 census was 1,180,631. Some argue that the region suffers from…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,351
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  12,555
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,934
• Eastern Towhee

  Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,491
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  11,464
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,586
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  10,086
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,281

Largest nearby schools

• Vestavia Hills High School
  High · Vestavia Hills · 1,578 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Homewood High School
  High · Homewood · 1,330 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Shades Valley High School
  High · Irondale · 1,200 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• Pizitz Middle School
  Middle · Vestavia · 1,158 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Huffman High SchoolMagnet
  High · Birmingham · 1,147 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Gardendale High School
  High · Gardendale · 1,047 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Fultondale Elementary School
  Elementary · Fultondale · 982 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• Mountain Brook Junior High School
  Middle · Mountain Brook · 982 students · 12:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2021-12-22
  10 km E of Maplesville, Alabama
• M 2.87 — 2020-06-25
  4 km NNW of Berry, Alabama
• M 2.7 — 2017-02-17
  22 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.6 — 2017-02-17
  16 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.5 — 2016-08-23
  20 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.8 — 2016-05-16
  8 km W of North Johns, Alabama