River, southern Alabama, U.S. Formed by the Tallapoosa rivers northeast of Montgomery , it winds westward to Selma and then flows south for a length of 318 mi (512 km).
It is joined above Mobile by the Tombigbee to form the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which flow into the Gulf of {{link=Mexico, Gulf of">Mexico . Mobile and Montgomery became major cities largely because they were on this important artery.