The state of Georgia is located in the South of the United States and belongs to the South Atlantic states. Georgia borders the states of Tennessee and North Carolina to the north, South Carolina to the northeast, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Georgia’s coastline is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
Georgia is located in two physiographic regions of the United States: the Appalachian Mountain System and the Atlantic Lowlands of the United States.
Most of Georgia’s territory (the entire southeast of the state) is a coastal plain, part of the U.S. Atlantic Lowlands. The region is characterized by a flat topography rising gently to the northwest. Along the coast of Georgia (as well as northward along the coast of South Carolina and southward in Florida) stretches a chain of numerous (over one hundred) barrier islands of the Sea Islands (“Sea Islands”). The largest of Georgia’s Sea Islands is Cumberland Island, with an area of 147 km², and its coastline is a national wildlife refuge. Four of Georgia’s islands are known as Golden Isles (“Golden Isles”), their mild climate, picturesque nature and diverse wildlife attract numerous tourists. Georgia’s coastline is riddled with numerous bays and river estuaries.
In the interior of the coastal plain, the gentle sandhills known as the Sandhills stretch from the northeast (from South Carolina) to the southwest, overgrown with pine forests. To the northwest of them, separated from the plains by a scarp known as the “Fall Line” (or “Falls Line”), is the hilly Piedmont Plateau, the easternmost province of Appalachia and the second largest region of Georgia. Several distinct peaks rise above Piedmont, the most famous of which is the rock monolith Stone Mountain (514 meters above sea level and about 250 meters above the surrounding plain).
Even further north, in the extreme northeast of the state, are the Blue Ridge (“Blue Ridge”) Mountains. It is here that Georgia’s highest mountain, Brasstown Bold (1,458 meters above sea level), is located. To the west of Blue Ridge stretches the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley (“Ridges and Valleys”) region. In Georgia, it includes the Taylor Ridge Ranges (up to 507 meters above sea level), White Oak Mountain (456 meters), and Lookout Mountain (728 meters). Farther west, in the extreme northwest of the state, is the Cumberland Plateau (the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau).
About half of Georgia’s rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean, most of the rest flow to the Gulf of Mexico through Florida and Alabama, with several small rivers in the northern part of the state flowing into the Tennessee River (and then through the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico). The longest river flowing through Georgia is the Chattahoochee River, which flows from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northeastern part of the state south to the Gulf of Mexico. The Chattahoochee River is about 690 kilometers long, and in its middle course it forms part of the Georgia-Alabama border. Other major rivers in the state are the Flint River (554 km long), the Savannah River (484 km long), which forms most of the border with South Carolina, and the Ojichi River (473 km long).
The largest body of water in Georgia is the Clarks Hill Lake Reservoir on the Savannah River (on the border with South Carolina). Its area is 288 km² and its depth reaches 55 meters. Other large lakes in the state are Hartwell Reservoir on the Savannah River (also on the border with South Carolina, with an area of 230 km² and a depth of up to 56 meters), Walter George Reservoir on the Chattahoochee River (on the border with Alabama, its area is 183 km² and depth up to 30 meters). The largest lake located entirely in Georgia is Sidney Lanier Reservoir (or simply Lanier) on the Chattahoochee River (150 km², depth up to 48 meters).
Georgia is characterized by a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and warm winters. The state’s climate is strongly influenced by the proximity of the ocean; the coast, unlike the mountainous regions, receives almost no snow in winter, but in summer it usually receives more precipitation than in the inland areas.
In central Georgia’s largest city (and capital), Atlanta, the average temperature of the coldest month, January, ranges from 2°C to 12°C, and the hottest month, July, from 22°C to 32°C. In the Atlantic coastal city of Savannah, the average January temperature ranges from 4°C to 16°C and July from 23°C to 34°C.
Like other Atlantic coastal states, Georgia is highly vulnerable to hurricanes. However, the coastal areas of Georgia are rarely directly hit by the elements, more often inland areas of the state strong storm winds and heavy rains are brought by hurricanes, which have already weakened to some extent over Florida. Tornadoes are also quite common in Georgia, but relatively weak.