GA · Peach State · South · admitted 1788 (#4)
Georgia map
Georgia highlighted on the US map, with Atlanta as both capital and largest city. It is the largest state east of the Mississippi River by area and has 159 counties, more than any state except Texas.
- Capital
- Atlanta
- Largest city
- Atlanta
- Population (2020)
- 10,711,908
- Area
- 59,425 sq mi
- Counties
- 159
- Time zone
- Eastern
- Region
- South · South Atlantic
- Statehood
- January 2, 1788
Where Georgia is
Georgia is in the southeastern US between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic coast. It measures about 300 miles north to south and 230 miles east to west. Tennessee and North Carolina lie to the north, South Carolina to the northeast across the Savannah River, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Atlanta sits in the north-central Piedmont at about 1,000 feet, near the headwaters of the Chattahoochee. The Fall Line through Columbus, Macon and Augusta separates the hilly Piedmont of the north from the flat Coastal Plain that covers the southern three-fifths of the state.
Major cities
| City | Region of state | Population (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (capital) | Metro Atlanta (north-central) | 498,715 |
| Columbus | West-central (Chattahoochee) | 206,922 |
| Augusta | East-central (Savannah River) | 202,081 |
| Macon | Central Georgia | 157,346 |
| Savannah | Coast | 147,780 |
| Athens | Northeast Georgia | 127,315 |
| Sandy Springs | Metro Atlanta | 108,080 |
Geography
- Brasstown Bald — 4,784 feet, the highest point, in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachians in the far northeast; Springer Mountain nearby is the southern end of the Appalachian Trail.
- Chattahoochee River — rises in the Blue Ridge, passes through metro Atlanta (Lake Lanier) and forms most of the Alabama border on its way to the Gulf.
- Savannah River — the entire South Carolina border, from the Tugaloo headwaters to the port of Savannah.
- Altamaha, Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers — the Ocmulgee (Macon) and Oconee (Milledgeville) join to form the Altamaha, the largest river entirely within the state, which reaches the Atlantic near Darien.
- Okefenokee Swamp — about 700 square miles of blackwater wetland on the Florida line, the source of the Suwannee and St. Marys rivers.
- Atlantic coast — about 100 miles of general coastline fronted by barrier islands (Tybee, St. Simons, Jekyll, Cumberland). See US coastlines.
Borders
Two of Georgia's borders are rivers: the Savannah with South Carolina and the Chattahoochee with Alabama from the Florida corner north to West Point, where a surveyed line takes over and runs north to Tennessee. The St. Marys River forms the eastern part of the Florida line before a survey completes it west to the Chattahoochee. The northern border with Tennessee and North Carolina was intended to follow the 35th parallel but the 1818 survey ran about a mile south of it, which is why Georgia does not reach the Tennessee River at Nickajack — a boundary still disputed by Georgia.
Regions of Georgia
Metro Atlanta, North Georgia (the Blue Ridge and Ridge-and-Valley country around Dalton, Rome and Dahlonega), the Piedmont (Athens, Augusta), Middle Georgia (Macon, Columbus, Milledgeville), the Coastal Plain of South Georgia (Albany, Valdosta, Tifton) and the Coast (Savannah, Brunswick, the Golden Isles).
Related maps
- Georgia county map — all 159 counties with seats.
- Blank Georgia map — outline for printing.
- Printable Georgia map.
- Atlanta — the capital since 1868 and the Southeast's largest metro.
- Neighbors: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama.
- Region: South · South Atlantic · Southeast.
- Time zone: Eastern.
- Geography: Appalachian Mountains, Coastlines, US rivers.