The state of Georgia is located in the southeastern United States. The Blue Ridge Mountains run across the northeast of the state, while the ridge-and-valley Appalachians occupy the northwest. The Piedmont foothills extends from the mountains down to the Fall Line, the “edge” over which rivers cascade down to the low-lying coastal plain in the southeast. (The Fall Line is a feature that extends diagonally northeast-southwest down the Eastern Seaboard). Parts of Georgia's coastal plain, especially near the sluggish rivers, are swampy. A chain of barrier islands, called the Sea Islands, hugs the coastline.

Name

Georgia was named after King George II of Great Britain. British soldier, Member of Parliament and social reformer, James Oglethorpe received a charter from George II to settle the colony of Georgia in 1732. Oglethorpe saw Georgia as a place to resettle English subjects who had been imprisoned for debt, along with "the worthy poor”. The colony's charter prohibited slavery and alcohol, although these restrictions were lifted in 1749.

Climate

Most of Georgia has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers and mild winters, apart from in the mountains which are cooler. Precipitation is moderate to heavy, with average annual rainfall as much as 75 inches (200 centimetres) in the the north. The state has frequent tornadoes and is vulnerable to hurricanes sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean, although the coast rarely experiences a direct strike.

Economy

Once a major cotton-growing area, Georgia is now the US’s largest producer of peanuts (it produces twice as many as the next highest-producing state) and pecans. Tobacco is the principal crop in central and southern parts, while peanuts dominate the southwest. Maize, soya beans, peaches, cattle, poultry and eggs are also important.
​​​​​​​

The manufacture of textiles has long been Georgia's leading industry. Other major manufactures include aircraft, cars, foods, paper products and chemicals. Atlanta is a centre of information technology, media and banking industries. Much of Georgia is heavily forested and the state is a leading producer of timber, as well as other tree products such as resin and turpentine. Georgia is well known for its fine marble.

Atlanta

Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Atlanta is Georgia’s capital and most populous city. It was founded in 1837 at the junction between two railways linking the port of Savannah with Chattanooga and the Midwest. A settlement, named "Atlantica-Pacifica”, grew up around the railway terminus. The name was later shortened to Atlanta. During the Civil War, the area around Atlanta, which had grown into an important railway hub, became the scene of several major battles, culminating in a four-month-long siege of the Confederate city by the Union Army. On the 2nd September 1864, Atlanta surrendered and a few days later, on the orders of General Sherman, it was burned to the ground.
​​​​​​​

Atlanta was soon rebuilt and, during the first decades of the 20th century, it grew rapidly. In the 1960s, Atlanta became a focus of the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King and others. Atlanta was selected to host the 1996 Olympic Games, an event that triggered a fundamental transformation of the city over the following decade.

​​​​​​​While its economy boomed, Atlanta became a modern, multicultural city with gentrified neighbourhoods, towering skyscrapers and a thriving arts scene. A centre for banking, information technology and media businesses, the city hosts the global headquarters of corporations such as the Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, CNN and UPS. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport.

Facts about Georgia

Area 57,906 sq miles (149,977 sq km)

Highest point Brasstown Bald 4784 ft (1458 m)

Population 11,029,227

Capital Atlanta

Largest cities Atlanta, 510,823; Columbus, 201,877; Augusta, 200,884; Macon, 156,512; Savannah, 147,748

Nicknames Peach State, Empire State of the South

State bird Brown thrasher

State flower Cherokee rose

State tree Live oak