Topographic Regions Map of Georgia.
Area
With an
area of 153,909 km² (59,425 sq mi),
[1] the US state of Georgia is about half the size of
Italy. Compared with other US states, Georgia would fit into
California six times.
Climate and Biomes
Georgia has a humid
subtropical climate with four seasons: long, hot summers, mild winters and the corresponding transition periods of spring and fall. The climate supports diverse biomes, such as a
temperate rainforest (broadleaf and mixed forests) in the high Blue Ridge Mountains, salt marshes and maritime forests of the
Golden Isles, the four barrier islands, St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Jekyll Island along the Atlantic coast.
Golden Isles website:
goldenisles.com
Georgia's Geography
Five different major regions
define Georgia's landscape (from north to south):
Pond with great egrets in the background. A bird rookery on Jekyll Island, one of the four barrier islands in Glynn County, Georgia.
Image: mwms1916
1. In the northwestern corner is the
Valley and Ridge region, a zone of alternating mountain ridges and valleys in Georgia's portion of the
Appalachian Plateau.
2. In the northeastern corner is the southern end of the
Blue Ridge Mountains, a subrange of the much larger Appalachian Mountain Chain. Situated there is the highest elevation in the state of Georgia,
Brasstown Bald (Enotah) at 1,458 m (4,784 ft).
3. The hilly
Piedmont part of the state is Georgia's most populated area. Within the region are the fall line cities of Augusta, Macon, and Columbus.
The
fall line is the natural border between the lower coastal plain and the higher terrain of the Piedmont.
Before the improvement of navigational facilities such as locks, the fall line was usually the head of navigation on rivers due to insurmountable rapids or waterfalls.
Fall line cities developed at the end of the navigable part of a river, where boats could go no further. Trading posts were established in those places, where materials brought from the coastal plains could be traded for goods from the Piedmont.
Tallulah Falls of the Tallulah River at Tallulah Gorge State Park, about 155 km (96 mi) northeast of Atlanta.
Image: chronic-shock
4. The relatively flat
Coastal Plain is Georgia’s largest geographical region, it covers about 60% of the state, expanding from the Atlantic Ocean to the Fall Line.
In prehistoric times, this area was a seabed, and the coast was near the fall line. When the ocean retreated, it left a vast expanse of limestone, clay, sand, and other 'soft' sedimentary deposits. The land is usually poorly drained, and there are often marshy areas. The Okefenokee Swamp in southwest Georgia and northern Florida is a 1,770 km², peat-filled wetland, considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. The Suwanee River rises in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Rivers
Other major rivers in Georgia are the
Savannah River, the
Chattahoochee River, which forms part of the border with Alabama, and the
Altamaha River, fed by the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers.
Lakes
Major lakes in Georgia are
Lake Sidney Lanier, a reservoir at the Chattahoochee River; Lake Seminole, a reservoir located in the southwest corner of Georgia; and West Point Lake, a reservoir at the Chattahoochee River.
View of a portion of
Providence Canyon State Park, also called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon"
Image: Robbie Honerkamp
Georgia's "Seven Natural Wonders"
- Amicalola Falls: The highest waterfall in Georgia.
- Okefenokee Swamp: One of the world's largest intact freshwater ecosystems.
- Providence Canyon: "Georgia's Little Grand Canyon," showcasing colorful geological strata.
- Radium Springs: One of the largest natural springs in the state.
- Stone Mountain
The Stone Mountain is a massive isolated dome of quartz monzonite.
- Tallulah Gorge
The Tallulah Gorge is a spectacular canyon formed by the Tallulah River.
- Warm Springs
Warm Springs is famed for its mineral waters and as the Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Little White House."
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