Significant cities included in the CSA include Albertville, Arab, Athens, Boaz, Decatur, Fayetteville, Fort Payne, Guntersville, Hartselle, Huntsville, and Madison, as well as DeKalb, Lawrence, Limestone, Lincoln, Madison, Marshall, and Morgan counties.

School systems by county: Madison Limestone Morgan Lawrence The geography of the Huntsville-Decatur Metro Area ranges from the tall peaks of the southern Appalachian Mountains, to the low valleys formed by the Tennessee River.

The heart of the Huntsville–Decatur Metro Area (Huntsville, Decatur, and Madison) is linked together by the 22 mile strip of Interstate 565.

Beyond Madison Boulevard's convergence with Interstate 565 nine miles beyond, Research Park Boulevard, an important north–south expressway connecting Cummings Research Park, MidCity (a mixed used development at the location of the former Madison Square Mall[10]), and Redstone Arsenal, bypasses the portions of Huntsville's busier Memorial Parkway.

[citation needed] The area around the Beltline experienced rapid growth, causing additional traffic problems.

[clarification needed] The economy of the Huntsville-Decatur Area has significant technical, aerospace, manufacturing, and defensive components.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal plan, creating numerous dams, locks, nuclear power plants, coal power plants, along with many others, to create jobs along one of the most poverty ridden regions in the United States.

The TVA has turned many tired North Alabama towns into some of the most technologically advanced cities in the country.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has grown to be the largest public utility provider in the United States.