Mobile

Sister cities

• Košice
• Málaga
• Worms
• Havana
• Rostov-on-Don
• Katowice
• City of Cockburn
• Ichihara
• Veracruz
• Maracaibo
• Vitória
• Pau

History

The city is named after the Mobile tribe that the French colonists encountered living around Mobile Bay. Although it is debated by Alabama historians, they may have been descendants of the Native American tribe from the small fortress town, Mabila, in central Alabama. The Mobile tribe became allies with the French colonists and suggested the location for the original town of Mobile and a river fort. The tribe's language was the basis for Mobilian Jargon, a Choctaw-derived lingua franca widely used to facilitate trade among the various Gulf Coast peoples. In 1702, French colonists founded the Old Mobile Site south of existing Native American villages on the Mobile River. The Fort Louis de la Louisiane was built on a bluff that today is upriver from the Mobile River's mouth. The original town of Mobile was built on lower ground just downriver from the fort. French Canadian brothers Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville founded the site to establish control over France's claims to La Louisiane. From 1702 to 1711, it was the French colonial capital. In July 1703, Mobile's Roman Catholic parish was established by Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier, Bishop of Quebec, and was the first French Catholic parish established on the Gulf Coast. In 1704, the ship Pélican delivered 23 Frenchwomen to the colony, but passengers had contracted yellow fever at a stop in Havana; though most recovered, many colonists and neighboring Native Americans contracted the disease and died. African slaves were transported to Mobile on a supply ship from the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean. Disease and flooding plagued French colonists at the Old Mobile Site. French colonists burned the Old Mobile Site to the ground,…

Geography

Mobile is located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , with of it being land, and , or 22.5% of the total, being covered by water. Mobile has a number of notable historic neighborhoods. These include Ashland Place, Campground, Church Street East, De Tonti Square, Leinkauf, Lower Dauphin Street, Midtown, Oakleigh Garden, Old Dauphin Way, Spring Hill, and Toulminville. Mobile's geographical location on the Gulf of Mexico provides a mild subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. The record low temperature was , which was set on February 13, 1899. The record high temperature is , which was set on 26 August 2023. A 2007 study determined that Mobile is the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, with of average annual rainfall over a 30-year period. Mobile averages 120 days per year with at least of rain. Precipitation is heavy year-round. On average, July and August are the wettest months, with frequent and often-heavy shower and thunderstorm activity. October is slightly drier than other months. Snow is rare in Mobile. From 1996 to 2017, the city did not see snowfall. The most recent snowfall event occurred January 21, 2025, which produced record-breaking accumulations of up to and near-blizzard conditions. The snowfall event previous to this one was on January 16–17, 2018. Mobile has been affected by major tropical storms and hurricanes. Mobile had moderate damage from Hurricane Opal on October 4, 1995, and Hurricane Ivan on September 16, 2004. Mobile suffered millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which damaged many Gulf Coast cities. A storm surge of , topped by higher waves, damaged…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,386
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  7,766
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  6,887
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,758
• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,465
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,014
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,689
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,609

Largest nearby schools

• Baker High School
  High · Mobile · 2,491 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• Alabama Destinations Career Academy
  Other · Chickasaw · 1,596 students
• WP Davidson High School
  High · Mobile · 1,535 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Bernice J Causey Middle School
  Middle · Mobile · 1,418 students · 20:1 ratio
• Theodore High School
  High · Theodore · 1,280 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Murphy High School
  High · Mobile · 1,254 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Mattie T Blount High School
  High · Eight Mile · 1,176 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• Saraland High School
  High · Saraland · 1,096 students · 16.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2020-09-03
  1 km W of Pollard, Alabama
• M 2.6 — 2019-04-12
  13 km NW of Flomaton, Alabama
• M 3.1 — 2019-04-11
  6 km NNW of Pollard, Alabama
• M 2.5 — 2019-04-11
  8 km NW of Pollard, Alabama
• M 2.7 — 2019-03-24
  2 km ESE of Century, Florida
• M 3.1 — 2019-03-11
  4 km N of Flomaton, Alabama