Georgia (state)

E

Soils

The soils of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains include clays, loams, and large areas of gray, sandy soils. The clays and loams are productive when farmed. The sandy soils are generally too dry and too poor in organic matter for farming unless large amounts of fertilizer are used. The soils of the Piedmont and the other Appalachian regions range from light-colored sandy loams, which are underlain by clay subsoils, to reddish clay loams and sticky red clays. Soil erosion has been especially severe in the hilly sections of the Piedmont. In many areas the sandy loams have been completely removed by erosion and the underlying clay subsoils exposed. Parts of the Cumberland Plateau, which is underlain mainly by limestones and shales, have fertile red or brown loams, but only the more level sections are farmed.

F

Plant Life

Almost the entire area of Georgia was forested in early colonial times, and 67 percent of the land is still covered by forests and woodlands. Mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees cover most of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountain areas. Common trees in these areas include species of ash, beech, birch, hemlock, hickory, poplar, sweetgum, sycamore, red oak, white oak, and Virginia, shortleaf, and loblolly pines. Pines which predominate on the Piedmont are loblolly and shortleaf. On the coastal plains, slash, loblolly, and longleaf pines are found. The live oak, the state tree, flourishes in the southern part of the coastal plains. Palmettos are found in areas of sandy soil, and bald cypresses and tupelo gums are common in swampy and poorly drained areas. Spanish moss festoons many of the cypresses in Okefenokee Swamp. Other trees found in the state include the red maple, sweet bay, black cherry, butternut, sassafras, southern magnolia, cottonwood, locust, and elm.

Okefenokee Swamp is a unique part of Georgia, a vast wilderness of marshlands, floating green lily pads, wild orchids, and bald cypresses draped in Spanish moss.

Flowering plants grow in great profusion in Georgia. Those native to the state include the trillium, galax, bellwort, hepatica, mayapple, bloodroot, violet, columbine, lady slipper, and Cherokee rose, which is the state flower. Among the many shrubs and small flowering trees common in Georgia are species of laurel, mimosa, redbud, flowering dogwood, rhododendron, and flame azalea.

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G

Animal Life

White-tailed deer are the most abundant of the larger animals found in the state. There are black bears in the northern mountains and in Okefenokee Swamp, and bobcats prowl many of the rural areas. Red foxes, gray foxes, muskrats, raccoons, opossums, flying squirrels, foxes and gray squirrels are abundant in the forested areas, and otter and beaver are found in many swamps and rivers.

Most of the more than 300 species of birds found east of the Mississippi can be sighted in Georgia. Some 160 species are permanent residents; 120 of them breed below the Fall Line, which not only sharply divides the species of birds but of plants and trees as well. Many migratory birds from the northern United States and Canada spend the winter in Georgia. Along the coast and in marshes and swamps inland are found the anhinga, wood ibis, least bittern, wood duck, clapper rail, and many species of herons and egrets. Hawks, black vultures, and turkey vultures are found throughout the state, and mourning doves and bobwhite quail are common in cultivated areas. The distinctive calls of the catbird, the mockingbird, and the brown thrasher, the state bird, ring out from brushy thickets. Other birds include the towhee, blue jay, meadowlark, cardinal, robin, crow, and ruby-throated hummingbird. There are also numerous species of warblers, vireos, wrens, and sparrows. The ivory-billed woodpecker, thought to be extinct, was sighted in Georgia (as well as other places) in 1967.

Georgia’s largest reptile is the alligator, which is found in coastal swamps and in the great Okefenokee Swamp. The six venomous snakes found in the state are the coral snake, the water moccasin, or cottonmouth, the copperhead, the pygmy rattlesnake, timber or canebreak rattlesnake, and the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake. There are also many nonpoisonous snakes. Saltwater game fish include the channel bass, spotted weakfish, tarpon, and sailfish. Shrimp, crabs, and oysters are also found along the coastal regions. In the lakes and streams of northern and central Georgia are mountain trout, bream, bass, and catfish. Redfish, bass, mullet, drum, shad, and mackerel are plentiful along the coast.

H

Conservation

The prevention of soil erosion is the state’s primary concern in the field of conservation. Much topsoil has been lost as a result of the excess runoff of rainwater and floodwater. It is estimated that since colonial times, parts of the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain have lost between 18 and 38 cm (7 and 15 in) of topsoil. Soil fertility has also been reduced. Until about the 1930s a major factor in the destruction of Georgia’s soils was the cotton grower, whose poor farming techniques encouraged excessive water runoff and soil depletion. Another important factor has been the hilly, sloping nature of much of the land. When left bare, the hillslopes are soon gullied and stripped of their soil by heavy rains.

Since the 1930s much of the eroded cotton-growing acreage has been converted to pastureland or woodland. On the hilly lands still under cultivation, contour plowing, terracing, strip cropping, and crop rotation techniques are now used to help reduce runoff and maintain soil fertility. As part of the efforts to reduce runoff and flooding, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operates two dams in northern Georgia.

Reforestation, which has been carried on extensively throughout the state, has helped reduce runoff on eroded lands. It has also stimulated the growth of the wood pulp and paper industry in the state. The Georgia forestry commission and the United States Forest Service are the two principal agencies active in the conservation of Georgia’s forest resources. The commission operates tree nurseries where pine seedlings are raised for use in both public and private reforestation programs throughout the state. In addition, a number of timber companies have carried out extensive reforestation programs.

The Georgia game and fish commission is responsible for the protection and development of wildlife resources in the state. The commission operates a system of game management areas where hunting and fishing are regulated to help protect the state’s wildlife. In 2008 the state had 15 hazardous waste sites on a national priority list for cleanup due to their severity or proximity to people. Between 1995 and 2000, the amount of toxic chemicals discharged into the environment increased by 2 percent.

III

Economic Activities

During the 18th century, indigo (a source of blue dye), rice, and sugarcane were grown on plantations in Georgia. Cotton was introduced in 1786. Indigo and sugar cultivation all but vanished early in the 19th century, and rice production had gravely declined by 1870. Cotton, however, remained to dominate the Georgian farm economy until the 1920s. Beginning in the 1890s, agriculture in the state was diversified. Manufacturing was of minor importance in the state before the Civil War. The textile industry, Georgia’s oldest, began to develop in the 1830s and again in the 1880s after the Reconstruction period. Modern large-scale development of the textile industry dates only from the 1920s. World War II (1939-1945) greatly stimulated both the growth and the diversification of manufacturing in the state. Manufacturing now ranks as the most valuable branch of the economy and is a leading source of jobs.

Georgia had a work force of 4,546,000 in 2008. The largest share of those, 34 percent, were employed in the diverse services sector, doing such jobs as giving legal advice or working in restaurants. Another 20 percent worked in wholesale or retail trade; 16 percent in federal, state, or local government, including those in the military; 10 percent in manufacturing; 19 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 21 percent in transportation or public utilities; 5 percent in construction; 2 percent in farming (including agricultural services), forestry, or fishing; and just 0.3 percent in mining. In 2007, 4 percent of Georgia’s workers were members of a labor union.

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