UA Atlases Compile Wealth of Information About State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A new atlas, recently published by The University of Alabama geography department, offers an abundance of information on each of Alabama’s 12 metropolitan areas.

Percentages of military veterans, residents carpooling to work and divorcees living in each area, as well as types of occupations, median household income rates and more is easily located in the first edition of the “Atlas of Alabama Metropolitan Areas.” The atlas was produced by Craig Remington, director of the Cartographic Research Laboratory for the department of geography within UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The data, based on information gathered in the 2000 Census, are compiled for Anniston, Auburn-Opelika, Birmingham, Phenix City, Decatur, Dothan, Florence, Gadsden, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. These are the 12 locations in the state considered as Metropolitan Statistical Areas — defined by the Bureau of the Census as cities with 50,000 or more inhabitants or urbanized areas with a total population of at least 100,000.

This atlas is 477 pages long and is divided into chapters offering maps and statistics for each of these 12 areas. The appendix reviews selected statistics for all municipalities in Alabama.

The atlas is one of three recently published atlases available from UA’s Cartographic Research Laboratory. The fourth edition of the “Atlas of Alabama Counties” is an updated version of a work originally completed in 1995. It focuses on current demographic and economic data on a county-by-county basis. A current map of each county is provided along with numerous charts and tables in the spiral-bound 325-paged volume.

The second edition of the “Statistical Atlas of Alabama” is an updated version that focuses on current demographic and economic data on a statewide basis, allowing for comparisons between counties. The atlas contains both 1990 and 2000 Census statistics that reflect upon changes in the state.

This atlas’s 14 chapters include information on: population characteristics, age, housing, employment, family characteristics, education, health and medicine, politics, agriculture, climate, and more.

For a copy of one or more of these atlases, send $35 for each atlas desired to the Cartographic Research Laboratory, The University of Alabama Department of Geography, Box 870322, Tuscaloosa, Ala. 35487-0322. The cost includes postage and handling. Make checks payable to The University of Alabama.

More information on these publications, including a printable order form, is available on the following web site: www.as.ua.edu/geography/cartlab/.

For a review copy of one or more of these atlases, contact Chris Bryant, 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu