limestone and marble. The Cahaba Basin and Black Warrior Basin in central Alabama produce coalbed methane. Extensive oil and gas deposits have been developed in the southern portion of the state, Mobile Bay, and coastal state waters. The first scientific reports of Alabama's geology were made during field studies by R. T. Brumby in the late 1830s and Sir Charles Lyell in the early 1840s. Michael Tuomey, appointed state geologist in 1847, completed a Geological Map of Alabama and in 1849 and published the first of two comprehensive reports on the state's resources a year later. These publications did much to quantify the mineral wealth of the Birmingham District and helped establish the region's early iron industry. Tuomey was succeeded by Eugene Allen Smith, who built on the initial researches to establish the geological history of the state. Meteor crater A meteor crater over five miles in diameter was identified near Wetumpka, Alabama in 1969–1970. Conclusive evidence of the origin of the Wetumpka Impact Crater was found by Auburn University geology professor David T. King in 1998. See also Geology of the Appalachians Geology of the United States References External links Survey of Alabama – State of Alabama Department of Geological Sciences – University of Alabama Natural history of Alabama Alabama