Georgia State of America

Georgia, 4th State

(Wisdom, justice, and moderation)

• Name (after King George II of Great Britain): “Georgia”; “tiller of the soil/ farmer.”
• Governor: Brian Kemp ( Republican Party)
• Capital: Atlanta
• Population: 10,736,059 (2020), 8th-most populous.
• Location: Georgia is the part of the Southern Region of the United States, Georgia is a South Atlantic state.
• North; Tennessee, North Carolina
• Northeast; South Carolina
• South; Florida
• West;  Alabama
• Southeast; Atlantic Ocean
• Area: 153,952 km2/59,441 mi2 , 24th by rank
• Postal abbreviation: GA
• Admitted to Union: January 2, 1788
• Official language: English

1.      State’s Symbols

• State Tree: Live Oak
• State Wildflower: Native Azalea
• State Crop: Peanut
• State Grass: none
• State Flower: Cherokee Rose
• State Vegetable: Vidalia Onion
• State Fruit: Peach
• State Food:
  1. State BBQ Cookoff – Beef: Shoot the Bull Barbecue Championship
  2. State BBQ Cookoff – Pork: Slosheye Trail Big Pig Jig
  3. State Prepared Food: Grits
• State Insect: Honeybee
• State Fish: Largemouth Bass
• State Marine Fish: Red Drum
• State Land Mammal: White-Tailed Deer
• State Marine Mammal: Northern Right Whale
• State Amphibian: Green Tree Frog
• State Dinosaur: none
• State Reptile: Gopher Tortoise
• State Bird: Brown Thrasher
• State Game Bird: Bobwhite Quail
• State Game Fish: Southern Appalachian Brook Trout
• State Horse: none
• State Dog: Adoptable Dog
• State Butterfly: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
• State Pet: N/A
• State Seashell: Knobbed Whelk
• State Fossil: Shark Tooth
• State Rock: none
• State Gemstone: Quartz
• State mineral: Staurolite
• State Sports: none
• State Songs: Georgia on My Mind
• State Holiday: Georgia Day, February 12
• State Tartan: Georgia District Tartan
• State Poet Laureate:  Chelsea Rathburn
• State Folk Dance: Square Dance
• State Folk Festival: North Georgia Folk Festival
• State Folk Life Play Swamp Gravy
• State Firearm: none
• State Tall Ship: none
• State School: Plains High School
• State Theater: Springer Opera House
• State Musical Theatre: Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival
• State Peanut Monument: Peanut Monument
• State Museum:
  1. State Art Museum: Georgia Museum of Art
  2. State Railroad Museum: Georgia State Railroad Museum
• State Historical Society: Georgia Historical Society
• State Possum: Pogo Possum
• State Waltz: Our Georgia 

2.       Geography Facts

• Land:  57,919 km² (150,010 mi²), 24th
• Water: 1,522 km² (3,942 mi²), 24th
• Coastline: 161 km,(100 mi), 16th
• Shoreline: 3,772 km, (2,344 mi), 12th
• State Forests:  6
• National Forests: 2
• State Parks: 63
• State Beach: N/A
• National Parks: 3
• Water: 3.2%
• Largest city (by area): Atlanta (354.2 km²)
• Largest city (by population):Atlanta (523,738people)
• Lowest point: Georgia; sea level, tied for 3rd lowest
• Highest point: Brasstown Bald; 4,784 feet, (1,458 m), 25th tallest

3.       Facts about Georgia

• Georgia has the largest aquarium in the world, housing more than 100,000 aquatic animals in over 10 million gallons of water.
• Coke was formulated in a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia in May 1886 by John Pemberton.
• In 1945, Georgia became the first state to change the legal voting age from 21 to 18.
• Although Georgia is called the Peach State, beside peaches, it is also the nation’s top producer of peanuts, pecans, and Vidalia onions.
• Wesleyan College, Macon, founded in 1836 was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
• Elberton, the largest city of Georgia, is the Granite Capital of the World. According to Geologists, the granite deposit is about 35 miles long, 6 miles wide, and 2-3 miles deep.
• Stone Mountain, often called a pink granite dome, near Atlanta, is large single masses of exposed granite.
• The world’s largest drive-in restaurant, The Varsity, can be found in Atlanta, stretching over two acres. It can accommodate 600 vehicles at a time.
• Georgia has the oldest state park in the nation.
• Key Cities: Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Macon.
• Nickname/s: Peach State, Empire State of the South.
• Major industries: Agriculture, film, energy, automotive, tourism.
• Famous for: Centennial Olympic Park, Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, Stone Mountain Park, Eternal Word Television Network.
• Area codes: 229, 404, 470, 478, 678, 706, 762, 770, 912

4.       Natural Resources

• Forests ( 60% of Georgia’s land is pine forest)
• Lumber (pine)
• public hunting lands (over 1 million acres)
• Water bodies:

1. 1. rivers and lakes.
   2. coastal shores.

• Marshes and Wetlands, Crops:

1. 1. Corn
   2. Cotton
   3. Peanuts
   4. Peaches
   5. Pecans
   6. Soybeans
   7. Tobacco

• Rock and mineral resources:
  1. Clay
  2. Sand
  3. Gravel
  4. Copper
  5. Marble
  6. Kaolin (important)
  7. Manganese
• Fossil fuel:
  1. Coal

5.       Mountains

             Mountains Ranges:

• Brasstown Bald
• Rabun Bald
• Hightower Bald
• Dick’s Knob
• Wolfpen Ridge
• Blood Mountain
• Tray Mountain
• Grassy Ridge
• Slaughter Mountain
• Double Spring Knob
• Coosa Bald

6.       Divisions

• 159 Counties
• 500 Cities
• N/A Towns