Page "Geography of Alabama" Paragraph 3

Adjoining the Cumberland Plateau region on the southeast is the Appalachian Valley ( locally known as Coosa Valley ) region, which is the southern extremity of the Appalachian Mountains, and occupies an area within the state of about.

This is a limestone belt with parallel hard rock ridges left standing by erosion to form mountains.

Although the general direction of the mountains, ridges, and valleys is northeast and southwest, irregularity is one of the most prominent characteristics.

In the northeast are several flat-topped mountains, of which Raccoon and Lookout are the most prominent, having a maximum elevation near the Georgia line of little more than and gradually decreasing in height toward the southwest, where Sand Mountain is a continuation of Raccoon.

South of these the mountains are marked by steep northwest sides, sharp crests and gently sloping southeast sides.