About Atlanta

The satellite view shows Atlanta, the capital and most populous city of the State of Georgia in the United States. Georgia is situated north of Florida, in the southeastern part of the contiguous United States with a coastline at the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast. Atlanta is located in the northwestern part of the state, southeast of the Chattahoochee River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains; about 555 km (345 mi) northwest of Jacksonville, 760 km (470 mi) northeast of New Orleans.



After the preventative removal of the Native Cherokee people from their historic lands in northern Georgia in the years between 1802 and 1825; first white settlers arrived in 1822.

In December 1836 the state government founded the Western and Atlantic Railroad to establish a link between the Chattahoochee River and the port of Savannah. A site named "Terminus" was created in 1837 to become the end of the railroad line. The settlement grew, and in 1843 its name was changed to Marthasville and in 1845 to Atlanta. The town was incorporated as Atlanta in December 1847. The city's name is somewhat misleading because Atlanta is more than 480 km (300 mi) away from the Atlantic Ocean.

By 1860 the population had grown to almost 10,000 souls, and more railroads had reached Atlanta, and the town became a major transportation hub. Atlanta played a vital role as a supply center for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
A century later the city was a center of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

Today has a city population of 'just' 464,000 residents (est. 2015), but it is the core city of Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States, with a population of more than 5.7 million people. The city is home to the Georgia State University GSU (www.gsu.edu), the largest institution of higher education in the State of Georgia.

What distinguishes Atlanta from other American cities?
1. Despite its size, Atlanta is considered a global city (or Alpha World City).

2. The city is the birthplace of a non-alcoholic, brown colored, carbonated beverage with two main ingredients (besides sugar and water): extracts from coca plants and the kola nut, it is legally sold in the US and many countries around the world, globally known as Coca-Cola.

3. One of the most famous citizens born in this city was Martin Luther King, Jr., the leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

4. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the World's busiest airport.


Atlanta points of interest:

Places:
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is a museum dedicated to the achievements of the civil rights movement in the US and worldwide.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site consists of several buildings including the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the original Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Margaret Mitchell House and Museum was the home of author Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind.)

Underground Atlanta is a shopping and entertainment district with a kind o' bad reputation.

Museums:
High Museum of Art (www.high.org), an art museum in Midtown, the city's arts district, it is possibly the only serious art museum in the Southeastern United States.
The High Museum of Art is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center (www.woodruffcenter.org) which is also home to the Alliance Theatre (alliancetheatre.org) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (www.atlantasymphony.org).

Atlanta History Center (www.atlantahistorycenter.com), Georgia's history in a museum. The history and research center was founded in 1926.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum (www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov) is a museum that houses former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's papers and other material relating to his presidency; the museum also features a full-scale replica of the Oval Office of the White House.

Children's Museum of Atlanta (childrensmuseumatlanta.org) the children's hands-on museum is a nice place for 3-9 years old.

World of Coca-Cola (www.worldofcoca-cola.com), is a museum for an American signature beverage, a carbonated soft drink heavy on sugar that conquered the world due to merciless advertising; the bevarage possibly helped to ruin the teeth of generations of kids worldwide.

Theater/Performing arts:
Fox Theatre (theater-atlanta.com), the former movie palace is now a performing arts venue.

Alliance Theatre (alliancetheatre.org), famous Atlanta theater company.

Music stage:
The Tabernacle (www.tabernacleatl.com), a concert hall located in Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park District.

Shopping:
Peachtree Center (peachtreecenter.com), the mall in Downtown Atlanta offers specialty shops, restaurants, a food court, and a conference center.

TV News:
CNN Center, the world headquarters of Cable News Network (cnn.com) is in Atlanta.

Parks:
Piedmont Park, the urban park between Midtown and Virginia Highland is a popular place for everything you can do in a large park: barbecuing, biking, inline skating, dog walking, fishing, and organized sporting.

The Centennial Olympic Park was part of the infrastructure for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta; it is now a public park.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden (atlantabg.org) is a 30-acre botanical garden with plant collections, a conservatory, a Canopy Walk, flowers and fountains; it offers art installations, concerts, cocktail parties and more.

Six Flags Over Georgia (sixflags.com/overgeorgia) a Six Flags theme park, it features characters and themes from Warner Bros. and DC Comics, has roller coasters and over 30 other rides, shows, and attractions.

Zoo Atlanta (zooatlanta.org) zoo and aquarium. Zoo Atlanta is one of four zoos in the U.S. currently housing giant pandas.

Sports:
Georgia State Stadium (gsugameday.com), the former Turner Field is now a college football stadium and home of the Georgia State University Panthers football team.
State Farm Arena (arenaatlanta.com) formerly Philips Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, home to the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (www.mercedesbenzstadium.com) is a brand new football and soccer stadium, playground for the Atlanta Falcons (American football) and Atlanta United FC (real football ;)
McCamish Pavilion, known as The Thrillerdome, is an indoor arena for basketball, home of the Yellow Jackets’ men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Just zoom in (+) to see Georgia State Capitol, a National Historic Landmark and the principal office building of Georgia's government.

The map shows a city map of Atlanta with expressways, main roads, and streets, zoom out to find Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (IATA code: ATL), located 13.5 km (8.4 mi) by road south of Atlanta's central business district.


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