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Muscle Shoals

Muscle Shoals, Alabama
City
Location in Colbert County and the state of Alabama
Location in Colbert County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 34°45′3″N 87°39′1″W / 34.75083°N 87.65028°W / 34.75083; -87.65028Coordinates: 34°45′3″N 87°39′1″W / 34.75083°N 87.65028°W / 34.75083; -87.65028
Country United States
State Alabama
County Colbert
Established April 23, 1923
Incorporated April 24, 1923
Government
 • Type Mayor/Council
 • Mayor David Bradford
Area
 • City 15.55 sq mi (40.27 km2)
 • Land 15.53 sq mi (40.22 km2)
 • Water 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation 499 ft (152 m)
Population (2014 est.)
 • City 13,614
 • Density 846/sq mi (326.8/km2)
 • Metro 147,317 (US: 281st)
Time zone Central Time Zone (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 35660(obsolete), 35661, 35662
Area code(s) 256, 938
FIPS code 01-53016
GNIS feature ID 0152574
Website www.cityofmuscleshoals.com

Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated population in 2014 was 13,614.

Both the city and the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area (including four cities in Colbert and Lauderdale counties) are commonly called "the Shoals".Northwest Alabama Regional Airport serves the Shoals region, located in the northwest section of the state.

Due to its strategic location along the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals played a key role in historic land disputes between Native Americans and Anglo-American settlers in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It was also the site of an attempted community development project by Henry Ford in 1922. Since the 1960s, the city has been known for music – developing the "Muscle Shoals Sound", as local recording studios (including FAME Studios in the late 1950s and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1969) produced hit records that shaped the history of popular music.

There are several explanations on how the city got its name. Some say the city gets its name from a former natural feature of the Tennessee River, namely a shallow zone where mussels were gathered. When the area was first settled, the distinct spelling "mussel" to refer to a shellfish had not yet been fully adopted. Others say that the name comes from the bend of the Tennessee River around the area, the shape of which looks like someone flexing an arm muscle.

The city is one of four municipalities known as the Quad Cities, the others being Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia, all in Alabama.


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