Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia is named in honor of British king George II. It was the last, and most remote, of the original 13 English colonies. Today, Georgia is home to about 9 million people. That gives Georgia the tenth largest population in the United States.

Atlanta is Georgia’s capital city. It’s the biggest city in Georgia and one of the most important cities in the Southern United States.

THE PEACH STATE

The southern half of Georgia touches the Atlantic Ocean. Because of its location in the Southeastern United States, most of Georgia has mild, sunny weather.

Georgia is nicknamed the Peach State because peach trees thrive in its warm climate. Peanuts, which are sometimes called goobers, are Georgia’s most important crop. That’s why Georgia’s other nickname is the Goober State.

SWAMPS AND MOUNTAINS

Flat coastal plains cover southern and southeastern Georgia. Many salt marshes dot the coastal areas. A salt marsh is a seawater swamp.

Georgia has many freshwater swamps, too. One of them, Okefenokee Swamp, reaches over the southeastern border into Florida. It’s one of the largest bird refuges in the United States. Black bears, alligators, snakes, and many other wild animals also live in the swamp.

Rolling hills and mountains rise in the northeastern part of the state. This part of Georgia extends into the Appalachian Mountains. One end of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia. It’s a hiking trail that runs all the way to Maine!

FROM COTTON TO CARS       

For many years, the main product of Georgia was cotton. In the early 1920s, a beetle called the boll weevil damaged much of Georgia’s cotton crop. Farmers had to grow other crops instead. Today, Georgia is known mainly as a manufacturing state. Factories make textiles and carpets, automobiles, paper, and many other products.

RED CLAY SOILS

Georgia is famous for the red clay soils that cover much of the state, especially the rolling hills in the northeast. The soils are red because they contain a lot of iron.

Georgia’s soils weren’t always red. Many decades of cotton farming caused the rich, black topsoils to erode, or wash away. That exposed the red clay soil below. Most of Georgia’s red soils aren’t well suited to growing crops.

ATLANTA

Atlanta, in northern Georgia, is the state’s leading city. More than 4 million people live in Atlanta’s bustling metropolitan area. Atlanta spreads out over hundreds of square miles and is one of the South’s biggest urban areas.

Jimmy Carter, a former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a native of Georgia. His Carter Presidential Center is located in Atlanta. Atlanta is also the birthplace of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. His birthplace and burial site in the city are part of a National Historic Site.

In 1996, Atlanta hosted one of the world’s biggest sporting events: the Summer Olympic Games. The games brought many benefits to the city. They included a new downtown park and improvements to Atlanta’s busy international airport.

SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA

Long ago, Spain controlled the coast of Georgia. Settlers from Spain reached Saint Catherine’s Island, Georgia, in 1566. Spain then built a series of forts and settlements along the coast. The Spanish called the land Guale. Settlers from England eventually pushed the Spaniards out.

In 1732, Englishmen James E. Oglethorpe and John Perceval received a royal charter for the colony from the English king. On February 12, 1733, Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Georgia. Today, February 12 is celebrated as a state holiday in Georgia. It’s called Georgia Day.

On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to join the United States.

SAVANNAH

Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia. Many people think it’s the most beautiful one, too. Until 1786, Savannah was the capital of the Georgia colony.

Savannah is located near the mouth of the Savannah River, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a city of gardens, public squares, and historic homes. Savannah is also one of the most important seaports in the Southeastern United States.

Savannah is the original home of the Girl Scouts of America. Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low was born in the city in 1860.

THE CIVIL WAR

From 1861 to 1870, Georgia wasn’t part of the United States. It was part of the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy was made up of Southern states that left the Union to form their own country. The American Civil War was fought to stop the South from seceding, or leaving the Union.

During the war, the Union Army invaded Georgia from the North. Parts of the state were destroyed. Union troops burned much of Atlanta. A huge painting in Atlanta’s Cyclorama building depicts the Battle of Atlanta. It’s considered one of the largest murals in the world.

A huge carving on Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, commemorates the Confederacy. The granite carving shows Confederate generals on horseback.

 Source: Microsoft ® Encarta

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