Georgia (state)

I

Introduction

Georgia (state), one of the South Atlantic states of the United States. Founded in 1733, Georgia was the last of the 13 original English colonies to be established in what is now the United States. Georgia emerged as a state during the American Revolution (1775-1783), and Georgians were among the first signers of the Declaration of Independence. On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state, and the first Southern one, to ratify the Constitution of the Constitution of the United States. Georgia developed slowly and did not begin to prosper until late in the 18th century. However, during the first half of the 19th century Georgia flourished as an agricultural state, with vast cotton and rice plantations. By 1860 Georgia was one of the wealthiest Southern states, and stately plantation homes graced the rolling hills of the coastal and central sections of the state.

The American Civil War (1861-1865) and its aftermath were major turning points in the economic and social life of Georgia. The state was devastated during the war, and after the abolition of slavery the plantation system was replaced by tenant farming, which still focused on traditional agricultural products such as cotton, tobacco, peanuts, and grain crops. The state remained poor, and during the Great Depression of the 1930s it was particularly devastated as the boll weevil decimated the cotton economy. Migration to other states seemed to be one of the few ways of overcoming poverty. The state remained primarily agricultural in nature until the early 1950s, when the development of industry began to accelerate. By the early 1960s, industrial production far outranked agriculture as the chief source of income. In the late 1990s Georgia had an economy based on manufacturing and service industries. Atlanta, the largest city and capital of the state, serves as an important economic center of the South and the nation.

The early colony was named in honor of King George II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Over the years the state has acquired many nicknames. Nicknames include the Buzzard State, in commemoration of an early state law to protect buzzards; and the Goober State, for the state’s enormous annual peanut crop. Two nicknames, however, are gaining frequency in use. Georgia is known as the Peach State, for the famous peaches grown there, and the peach emblem is on the state’s automobile license plates. Georgia is also known as the Empire State of the South. This nickname alludes to New York, which is known as the Empire State, and reflects Georgia’s size and the rapid development of its economy.

II

Physical Geography

Georgia has a total area of 153,910 sq km (59,425 sq mi), including 2,631 sq km (1,016 sq mi) of inland water and 124 sq km (48 sq mi) of coastal waters over which the state has jurisdiction. The state is the 24th largest in the country and has the largest land area of any state east of the Mississippi River. Georgia has a maximum dimension north to south of 515 km (320 mi) and east to west of 441 km (274 mi). The mean elevation is about 180 m (600 ft).

---

---

A

Natural Regions

Georgia occupies parts of six natural regions, or physiographic provinces. They are the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge province, the Ridge and Valley province, and the Appalachian Plateaus.

The six natural regions are parts of two major physiographic divisions of the United States. The Atlantic Coastal Plain and Gulf Coastal Plain are parts of the Coastal Plain, a lowland that extends around the coast of the eastern United States from New York to Texas. The four other natural regions are parts of the Appalachian Region, or Appalachian Highland.

The boundary between the Coastal Plain and the Appalachian Highland is marked by the Fall Line, or more accurately a zone along which the rivers and streams of the Piedmont flow across resistant rocks that mark the boundary with the Coastal Plain. Rapids and small waterfalls are numerous along the Fall Line. The falls provided waterpower for early industry, but impeded navigation above the Fall Line. Cities such as Columbus, Macon, and Augusta developed on the Fall Line at the head of navigation on the rivers and became major manufacturing centers due to the availability of water power.

The Atlantic Coastal Plain and the adjoining Gulf Coastal Plain occupy about 60 percent of Georgia. The Atlantic Coastal Plain rises gradually from sea level along the coast to an elevation of nearly 240 m (800 ft) near the Fall Line. Most of the plain is generally flat. Near the Fall Line, however, it becomes quite rolling and hilly. All rivers on the plain flow generally eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. Extensive salt marshes, which become flooded at high tide, are found in the coastal areas. There are also many freshwater swamps on the plain. Okefenokee Swamp, a vast watery region teeming with life, covers the extreme southeastern corner of the state and extends into the Gulf Coastal Plain and into Florida. Except for the swamps and the pine-covered hilly areas, most of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is covered by farmlands.

The Gulf Coastal Plain in Georgia differs little from the Atlantic Coastal Plain except that its rivers drain southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Underlain by soft limestone, the extensive pumping of groundwater in this region to irrigate agricultural land has resulted in many sinkholes.

The Piedmont, or Piedmont Plateau, which occupies about 30 percent of Georgia, is a rolling upland region. It lies between the lowlands of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains and the truly mountainous land of the Appalachians farther north. Rolling hills are characteristic of the Piedmont, and many of them rise high above the surrounding countryside. One of the most prominent is Stone Mountain, a steep-sided, whale-back-shaped mountain near Atlanta. Stone Mountain, 514 m (1,686 ft) above sea level, is a great mass of exposed granite. The gently rolling areas of the Piedmont are generally cultivated, but the more hilly sections are usually covered by forests, mainly of pine.

The Blue Ridge province, or Blue Ridge region, includes, in Georgia, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the neighboring valley. It occupies only about 5 percent of the state. Mount Oglethorpe, which reaches an elevation of 1,003 m (3,290 ft), is the southernmost point of the Blue Ridge. Brasstown Bald Mountain, which rises to 1,458 m (4,784 ft), is the highest point in the state. Several other peaks are more than 1,200 m (4,000 ft) above sea level. The region is a sparsely populated rural area, and heavily forested. It is one of the most scenic areas in Georgia, and has many deep and steep-sided river valleys and small waterfalls. Amicalola Falls, the state’s highest falls, drop 222 m (729 ft).

The Ridge and Valley province is characterized by a series of prominent ridges and narrow lowlands, which extend across the northwest in a southwest to northeast direction. The ridges mark outcrops of resistant rocks, and the lowlands are formed on softer rocks. The principal lowland is the Rome Valley. The most prominent ridges are Taylor Ridge and Pigeon Mountain. Most of the ridges, which reach elevations of 460 m (1,500 ft), are forested, and the valleys are used for farming.

The Appalachian Plateaus in Georgia are made up of part of the section known as the Cumberland Plateau. This plateau occupies the extreme northwestern corner of Georgia. Lookout Mountain is a long ridge that lies partly in Alabama and Tennessee and cuts across Georgia’s portion of the Cumberland Plateau. Sand Mountain, 460 m (1,500 ft) in elevation, forms the eastern edge of the plateau. The north Georgia mountain country has experienced population growth in recent years as residents of Atlanta favor the area for locating second homes and Floridians seek cooler locales to spend their summers. The fragile ecosystem in the area makes it increasingly vulnerable as development proceeds.

B

Rivers and Lakes

Most of the rivers of Georgia drain eastward to the Atlantic Ocean proper or southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Only a few flow northward to the Tennessee River, which is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. Most of the rivers flowing to the coasts are navigable by barges and small craft as far upstream as the Fall Line.

The major river flowing to the Atlantic is the Savannah River, which, with the Tugaloo River, one of its headwaters, forms most of the state’s eastern border with South Carolina. Other rivers are the Ogeechee; the Altamaha and its tributaries the Ocmulgee and Oconee; the Satilla; and the Saint Marys, which forms part of the state boundary with Florida.

The major river flowing to the Gulf of Mexico is the Chattahoochee River, which rises in the Blue Ridge. It forms part of Georgia’s western border with Alabama. Near the Florida state line the Chattahoochee is joined by the Flint River, the longest river wholly within Georgia, to form the Apalachicola River, which flows southward through Florida to the gulf. More than 800 km (500 mi) long, the Chattahoochee-Apalachicola is one of the longest river systems in the eastern United States. Northwestern Georgia is drained by the Coosa River and its tributaries, flowing roughly southward to join the Tallapoosa River in Alabama. Other rivers flowing to the gulf include the Ochlockonee and the Suwannee and its tributaries, all rising in the Coastal Plain. The Ocoee (called Toccoa in Georgia), Nottely, and Hiwassee flow north from the Blue Ridge to the Tennessee River in Tennessee.

Most of Georgia’s large lakes are artificial bodies of water constructed by utility companies for power generation, or by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for flood control. Major reservoirs on the Savannah River, on the Georgia-South Carolina state line, are Hartwell and Clark Hill reservoirs. On the Chattahoochee River and only partly in Florida are Walter F. George and Jim Woodruff reservoirs. Lake Sidney Lanier, on the upper Chattahoochee, covers 186 sq km (72 sq mi) and is the largest lake wholly within the state. Other major lakes are Lake Sinclair on the Oconee River, Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River, a Coosa tributary, and Tobesofkee, near Macon.

	More from Encarta
	•  Important Notice: MSN Encarta to be discontinued. Learn more. •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain