The Talladega National Forest is located in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 and covers 392,567 acres (613.39 sq mi, or 1,588.66 km²) at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

.

Before it was bought by the federal government in the 1930s, the area that comprises the Talladega was extensively logged and represented some of the most abused, eroded wastelands in all of Alabama. Pine forest regrowth now hosts a diverse eco-system.

The tiny 7,400 acre (30 km²) Cheaha Wilderness

Cheaha Wilderness

The Cheaha Wilderness lies next to Cheaha State Park, near the Talladega Mountains in Alabama, United States. Congress designated it in 1983 and expanded it in 1988....

 preserves a portion of this natural wealth near Rebecca Mountain.

The forest is headquartered in Montgomery

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

, as are all four of Alabama's National Forests. The other National Forests in the state are Conecuh

Conecuh National Forest

The Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama covers 83,000 acres , along the Alabama - Florida line in Covington and Escambia counties. Topography is level to moderately sloping, broad ridges with stream terraces and broad floodplains....

, Tuskegee

Tuskegee National Forest

The Tuskegee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Macon County, Alabama, just north of Tuskegee and west of Auburn. The topography is level to moderately sloping, with broad ridges with stream terraces and broad floodplains....

, and William B. Bankhead

William B. Bankhead National Forest

The William B. Bankhead National Forest is Alabama's largest National Forest, with , and is home of Alabama's only National Wild and Scenic River, the Sipsey Fork. It is located in northwestern Alabama, around the town of Double Springs; it is named in honor of William B. Bankhead, a longtime U.S...

. The Talladega National Forest is physically separated into two areas, and divided into three Ranger Districts:

• Oakmulgee District lies in the central part of the state, east of Tuscaloosa in Hale, Tuscaloosa, Bibb, Perry, Chilton and Dallas Counties. It consists of level to moderately sloping, broad ridges with stream terraces and broad floodplains. The ranger station is located in Brent
  Brent, Alabama
  Brent is a city in Bibb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 4,024.-Geography:Brent is located at 32°56'24.864" North, 87°10'29.935" West .According to the U.S...
  
  . This district lies within the Southeastern mixed forests
  Southeastern mixed forests
  The Southeastern mixed forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the United States.-Setting:This ecoregion covers the Piedmont of the eastern United States, stretching in a broad arc from Maryland southwest to Mississippi. It is distinguished from neighboring ecoregions by elevation...
  
   ecoregion
  Ecoregion
  An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
  
   and supports mixed forests of pine and oak.

• The Shoal Creek and Talladega Districts are located in the northeastern part of the state in Cherokee, Calhoun, Cleburne, Talladega and Clay Counties. They consist of upland hills and low mountains with predominantly moderately steep slopes. They support Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
  Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
  The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests are an ecoregion of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Setting:...
  
  . The Shoal Creek ranger station is located in Heflin
  Heflin, Alabama
  Heflin is a city in Cleburne County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,002. The city is the county seat of Cleburne County.-History:...
  
   and the Talladega ranger station in its namesake city of Talladega
  Talladega, Alabama
  Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....
  
  .

The forest covers parts of eleven counties in Alabama. In descending order of forest land area they are Cleburne, Clay, Bibb, Talladega, Perry, Hale, Calhoun, Chilton, Tuscaloosa, Cherokee, and Dallas counties. http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/2007/TABLE_6.htm

External links

• Forest Service website on Talladega National Forest