Georgia

here are six major geographical regions of Georgia. They are the Appalachian Plateau region, the Ridge and Valley region, the Blue Ridge region, the Piedmont region, and the Coastal Plain region.   The Appalachian Plateau region is the southern portion of the Appalachian Plateau that stretches from New York through Georgia and west into Alabama.   The Ridge and Valley region lies in the northwestern portion of the state. The area was formed due to extreme folding and faulting events. This folding and faulting created a series of ridges and valleys that vary in "height, width and geological materials". It consists of limestone, sandstone, chert, mudstone and shale as well as many other types of rocks. Much of the land in the area is heavily forested as forests cover almost half of the region.   The Blue Ridge region of Georgia is situated in the northeast of the state just north of the Piedmont. The mountain peaks in the Blue Ridge, which are among the highest in the state, average between two thousand and five thousand feet. It includes igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary geology; the main types of rocks in the area are gneiss, slate and saprolite. The soils of the Broad Basin are mostly loamy or clayey Ultiso. The Blue Ridge consists primarily of Precambrian metamorphic rocks, and the landscape has relatively high relief.   The Piedmont region consists of Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks, and the landscape has relatively low relief. The Piedmont is the second largest region of Georgia, and it has 3 water systems: the Chattahoochee River, West Point Lake, and Lake Sidney Lanier. The rocks of the Piedmont are made up of Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks and the soils are of a finer texture than those found on the coastal plain. Some specific types of rock in the Piedmont are schist, gneiss, and phyllite among others. Georgia's coastal plain is made up of sedimentary rock dating from the Late Cretaceous to Holocene periods. The primary natural mineral resource in the area is kaolin.   The Coastal Plain region is the largest and includes portions of the Atlantic coastal plain and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain. The Atlantic Coastal Plain and Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain consist of sediments and sedimentary rocks that range in age from Cretaceous to Present. The boundary between the Piedmont Region and the Coastal Plain Region is the Fall Line. The Sandhills or Carolina Sandhills is a 10–35 mi (16–56 km) wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, along the inland margin of this province. The Satilla River is in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Alapaha River, Suwanee River, and the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers flow through the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Florida Panhandle into the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Seminole is a reservoir at the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers on the Georgia–Florida border.Geologic History The oldest known rocks found in Georgia are from the Precambrian Proterozoic Era and are about 1 to 1.34 billion years old. They are found in the Piedmont Plateau and Blue Ridge mountain regions. Approximately 1 billion years ago a metamorphic change occurred during an event called the Grenville Orogeny and caused the rocks, which were originally sediment, to compress into a form of rock called gneiss due to heat and pressure. Around 630 million years ago the Grenville mountains began to erode carrying sediments from streams to the sea. The gneiss formed from these sediments created the marble, metaconglomerate, phyllite, quartzite, schist, and slate found in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont areas.   Three separate orogeny events impacted the eastern portion of North America during the Paleozoic. From these orogeny came folding, faulting, and igneous intrusions in the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge, the Valley and Ridge and the Appalachian Plateau.Georgia Mountains Region Main article: List of mountains in Georgia (U.S. state)   View from Brasstown Bald The Georgia Mountains Region are part of the Blue Ridge Mountains and begin in the northeast corner of Georgia. Brasstown Bald, the highest mountain in Georgia at 4,784 feet above mean sea level, is part of the chain and sits in an area known as Wolfpen Ridge. Other mountains in Georgia include Rabun Bald, Arabia Mountain, Big Bald Mountain, Black Mountain, and Blood Mountain.   Stone Mountain, located in Stone Mountain, Georgia is a well-known mountain that has an elevation of 1,683 feet amsl from its summit and 825 feet above the surrounding plateau. The mountain is known for its geology and also for its enormous bas-relief depicting three Confederate leaders: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The bas-relief is the largest in the world.Rivers and lakes Main article: List of rivers in Georgia (U.S. state)   The Savannah River begins at Hartwell Dam Several major rivers run through the state of Georgia. Some of them are the Flint River, Towaliga River, Ocmulgee River, Etowah River, Altamaha River, Savannah River, the Suwannee River. The Chattahoochee River is Georgia's longest, at 436 miles. The river begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains just below Brasstown Bald and ends at Lake Seminole in the southwesternmost corner of Georgia where it creates a boundary between Alabama and Florida.   Lake Lanier is the largest lake in Georgia followed by Lake Oconee as the second largest. Lake Lanier is 26 miles long and covers approximately 47 miles of riverbed Lake Oconee is 20 miles long and about a mile wide. Other lakes in the state include Lake Acworth, Lake Allatoona, Lake Blackshear, Jackson Lake (Georgia), West Point Lake, High Falls, Lake Seminole, Lake Chatuge and Walter F. George Lake.   Islands   Marsh on Cumberland Island Georgia has fourteen barrier islands off of its coast. Four of these islands are known as The Golden Isles. The largest of these islands is Cumberland Island in Camden County. The island is uninhabited and is only accessible by boat. Some of the next largest islands are St. Simon's Island in Glynn County as the second largest Ossabaw Island, twenty miles south of Savannah, is the third largest of the islands and Sapelo Island, sixty miles south of Savannah, is the fourth. The smallest of the islands is Jekyll Island in Glynn County.

Hardwood forests provide native habitat across much of north Georgia. Forested wetlands. Cypress gum, evergreen wetlands, deciduous wetlands, depressional wetlands and shrub wetlands. Forested wetlands provide critical native habitat across much of south Georgia.

Georgia has some 250 species of trees, 90% of which are of commercial importance. White and scrub pines, chestnut, northern red oak, and buckeye cover the mountain zone, while loblolly and shortleaf (yellow) pines and whiteback maple are found throughout the piedmont.

Georgia, the largest state east of the Mississippi river, has almost eight million acres of farmland classified as "prime,"which may be defined as available land that is best suited for producing food or fiber. That is, Georgia has the soil quality, growing season, and moisture supply necessary to produce sustained yields of crops.   Much of Georgia (over 60%) is heavily forested with pine, and the state is the leading state east of the Mississippi in the production of lumber (logs and boards) and pulpwood. From its vast stands of pine come more than half of the world's resins and turpentine and 74.4 percent of the U.S. supply. Georgia has approximately 24 million acres of commercial forest land, more than any other state. Georgia also has more acres in forest management than any other state.   Georgia is by far the leading clay-producing state in America and is recognized as a world leader in the mining, production, processing, and application of kaolin products. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 8 million metric tons of kaolin are mined from Georgia each year, with an estimated value of more than $1 billion.   Georgia is also famous for its fine marble.   Georgia has 70,150 miles of streams and rivers, over 425,000 acres of lakes, and over 4,500,000 acres of freshwater wetlands. Georgia's abundant water supplies provide drinking water; recreational areas ideal for swimming, fishing and boating; and water for generating hydroelectric power. Some of Georgia's largest lakes include:

December 22, 1696 James Edward Oglethorpe born to Eleanor and Theophilus.   July 1714 admitted to Corpus Christi at Oxford University   1716-1718 serves as aide-de-camp to Prince Eugene of Savoy during the Austro-Turkish War.   1722 elected to Parliament   1728 published “The Sailors Advocate”   Oglethorpe’s friend Robert Castell dies at Corbett’s spunging-house, a prison for debtors, on December 12.   becomes chairman of the committee to inquire into the State of Goals.   September 17, 1730 Petition for a charter to establish a new colony between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers brought before the Privy Council by Oglethorpe and his friends in the Associates of Dr. Bray.   April 21, 1732 King George II signs charter establishing the colony of Georgia and its governing body, the Georgia Trustees.   November 17, 1732 Oglethorpe and approximately 114 passengers left Gravesend, England, for Georgia on the frigate Anne.   February 12, 1733 The first Georgia colonists arrive at Yamacraw Bluff. James Edward Oglethorpe selected the location days earlier while colonists stayed at Port Royal, South Carolina.   July 11, 1733 goes against official Trustee policy and allows a shipload of forty-two Jewish Immigrants from Europe to settle in Savannah.   April 1734 Tomochichi and a delegation of Yamacraw Indians leave with James Edward Oglethorpe to visit England. The party arrived back in Savannah without Oglethorpe on December 27, 1734.   October 14, 1735 sets sail from England back to Georgia with new colonists and ministers John and Charles Wesley.   November 23, 1736 returns to England on the request of the other Trustees to report on the colony’s progress. While there, Oglethorpe lobbies for more money and troops to defend against the Spanish. He returns to Georgia with a new title: “Colonel of the Regiment of Foot for the Defense of His Majesty’s Plantations in America.”   August 21, 1739 meets with Creek chiefs and signs the Treaty of Coweta Town.   October 05, 1739 Tomochichi dies and is buried in Wright Square (formerly Percival Square) on the orders of James Edward Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe acted as a pallbearer at the funeral.   1740 organizes an unsuccessful siege of the Spanish fortress at St. Augustine in present-day Florida. Oglethorpe returns to St. Simons Island.   July 07, 1742 Spanish forces launch an invasion of Georgia on the south end of St. Simons Island. Oglethorpe’s forces successfully turn back the Spanish forces in the Battle of Gully Hole Creek and the Battle of Bloody Marsh.   July 23, 1743 leaves Georgia for England and never returns.   September 1744 marries Elizabeth Wright, heiress to Cranham Hall.   December 1745 commanded 600 men in England’s fight against a Jacobite uprising. The Duke of Cumberland brings charges against Oglethorpe for failing to capture a group of rebels at Shap. Oglethorpe acquitted of all charges during a court martial the following year.   March 16, 1749 attends his last meeting of the Georgia Trustees. The Trustees surrender the charter in 1753 making Georgia a royal colony.   1754 loses his seat in Parliament.   1756 secretly fights for Prussia with his friend Field Marshal James Keith during the Seven Years War. Oglethorpe uses the name pseudo name John Tebay. Oglethorpe returns to England around October 1760.   June 30, 1785 James Edward Oglethorpe dies. His wife buries him at the Parish Church of All Saints adjacent to Cranham Hall.

Georgia has the famous tourist attractions like Savannah Historic District, The Georgia Aquarium, The Atlanta Botanic Garden, The Center for Civil and Human Rights, The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, The Chattahoochee National Forest, the Jekyll Island, The Callaway Gardens, The Okefenokee Swamp, The Ocmulgee National Monument, and finally The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.