Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a southern state of the United States and its U.S. postal abbreviation is GA. Georgia was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. It was the last of the thirteen colonies to be established as a colony. It became the fourth state after ratifying the United States Constitution on January 2, 1788. Georgia's population in 2000 was 8,186,453 (U.S. Census). Georgia is one of the fastest growing states in the nation, with an estimated 8,829,383 people in 2004. Georgia is also known as the Peach State or Empire State of the South .

Geography

Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, on the west by Alabama, and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the mountain system of the Appalachians. The central piedmont extends from the foothills to the fall line, where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the continental coastal plain of the southern part of the state. The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald, 4784 feet (1458 m); the lowest point is sea level.

Related Topics:
Florida - Atlantic Ocean - South Carolina - Alabama - Tennessee - North Carolina - Blue Ridge Mountains - Mountain range - Mountain system - Appalachians - Piedmont - Foothills - Fall line - River - Coastal plain - Brasstown Bald - Sea level

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The capital is Atlanta, in the central part of northern Georgia, and the peach is a symbol of the state. The state is an important producer of cotton, tobacco, and forest products, notably the so-called "naval stores" such as turpentine and rosin from the pine forests.

Related Topics:
Atlanta - Peach - Cotton - Tobacco - Forest products - Naval stores - Turpentine - Rosin - Pine - Forest

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Georgia is also the largest state, in land area, east of the Mississippi River, since West Virginia seceded from Virginia during the Civil War. Michigan (96,810 square miles), Florida (65,768 square miles), and Wisconsin (65,603 square miles) are all larger than Georgia (59,441 square miles) when accounting for both land and water area.

Related Topics:
Mississippi River - West Virginia - Virginia - Michigan - Florida - Wisconsin

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Boundaries

Beginning from the Atlantic Ocean, the state's eastern border with South Carolina runs up the Savannah River, northwest to its origin at the confluence of the Tugaloo River and Seneca River. It then continues up the Tugaloo (originally Tugalo) and into the Chattooga River, its most significant tributary. These bounds were decided in the 1787 Treaty of Beaufort, and tested in the U.S. Supreme Court in the two Georgia v. South Carolina cases in 1922 and 1989.

Related Topics:
Savannah River - Confluence - Tugaloo River - Seneca River - Chattooga River - Tributary - 1787 - Treaty of Beaufort - U.S. Supreme Court - Georgia v. South Carolina - 1922 - 1989

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It then takes a sharp left turn around the tip of Rabun County, westbound along latitude 35°N. This originally was the Georgia and North Carolina border all the way back to the Mississippi River, until Tennessee was divided from North Carolina, and Alabama and Mississippi (the Yazoo Lands) were taken from Georgia. The state's western border then departs in another straight line south-southeastward, at a point southwest of Chattanooga, to meet the westernmost point of the Chattahoochee River near West Point, Georgia. It continues down to the point where it ended at the Flint River (the confluence of the two forming Florida's Apalachicola River), and goes almost due east and very slightly south, in a straight line to the origin of the Saint Mary's River, which then forms the remainder of the boundary back to the ocean.

Related Topics:
Rabun County - Latitude - North Carolina - Mississippi River - Alabama - Mississippi - Yazoo Lands - Chattanooga - Chattahoochee River - West Point, Georgia - Flint River - Apalachicola River - Saint Mary's River

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It should be noted that the water boundaries are still set to be the original thalweg of the rivers. Since then, several have been inundated by man-made lakes, including the Appalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint point now under Lake Seminole.

Related Topics:
Thalweg - Appalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint - Lake Seminole

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