Alabama is the 30th largest state in the United States with 52,423 square miles (135,775 km2) of total land mass. 3.19% of that is water, making Alabama 23rd in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second largest inland waterway system in the entire United States. About three-fifths of the land mass is a gentle plain that affords a general decline to the Mississippi River and to the Gulf of Mexico. The North Alabama region is partially mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley creating many creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes. The lowest point east of the Mississippi River lies in Dekalb County along a creek cutting tower ridges, thus creating Buck's Pocket State Park. Another natural wonder is "Land Bridge", the longest natural bridge located east of the Mississippi River. Alabama generally ranges in elevation from sea level at Mobile Bay, to just a little more than 1,800 feet (550 m) in the Appalachian mountains of the northeast. The highest point however, is Mount Cheaha. States bordering Alabama include the following; Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico in the extreme southern edge of the state.
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