Black Belt (Alabama)

Black Belt (Alabama), term for the low, prairie region of the southern United States, primarily in Alabama, noted for its rich black soil and for its cotton and livestock production. The crescent-shaped belt extends along the Alabama River in Alabama and into northeastern Mississippi, about three-fourths of its 13,000 sq km (5,000 sq mi) area being in Alabama. The region was settled in the 1830s after pioneers learned of the highly fertile black soil, which owes its richness to an underlayer of decayed soft limestone rock. The Black Belt soon became the most prosperous cotton-producing region of the South. During the American Civil War (1861-1865) foodstuffs were grown here to supply the Confederate army. Cotton farming declined over the latter half of the 20th century, and livestock and diversified farming were introduced, but the region continues to be plagued by unemployment and poverty.