Unit 1 Geography of Georgia
SS8G1 The student will describe Georgia with regard
to physical features and location.
a. Locate Georgia in relation
to region, nation, continent, and hemisphere.
-all maps
should have four key features
1. A title
2. a compass rose
3. scale
4. and legend
(key)
Location
-two types of
location
1. relative location—describes where a place is
located compared with other places
2. absolute location—identifies a precise
position on Earth’s surface.
Map
reading
-hemispheres—the two halves of a sphere
(Earth)
--latitude
(parallels)—lines that run east to west on a globe and measure north and
south (remember horizontal rungs of a ladder “ladder-tude”)
-longitude
(meridians)-lines that run north and south on a globe and measure east and
west
-equator- the 0˚˚ latitude line that goes around
the globe exactly halfway between the north and south poles.
-prime
meridian—line running from the north pole through England and South Africa
to the South Pole, located at 0˚ longitude.
Continents
-North
America, South America, Antarctica, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia
-Georgia is located
on the North American continent
Nations
-Georgia is
part of the Unites States of America
Regions
-region—an
area on Earth’s surface that is defined by certain unifying characteristics,
such as cultural, human, physical, government, a common language, climate,
situation and physical landforms.
-the basic unit of study in
Geography
-Georgia is
located in the southern region of the United States
-Georgia’s location
within the south is the southeast
-within the
southeast Georgia is bordered by five states, Alabama, Tennessee, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
Georgia’s Five
Geographic Regions
b. Describe the
five geographic regions of Georgia:
include the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ridge and Valley, Appalachian Plateau,
Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
Georgia consists of
five (5) major physiographic regions: 1.
Appalachian Plateau, 2. Ridge and Valley, 3.
Blue Ridge Region, 4. Piedmont Plateau, 5.
Coastal Plain
-these natural divisions
differ in both area and their land base, such as limestone, clay, shale or
marsh
1. The Appalachian Plateau
Region
-smallest physiographic
area
-a.k.a. the “TAG Corner”—the Tennessee Alabama
Georgia Corner
-a.k.a. the Cumberland Plateau
-dominated by Lookout and Sand Mountains
-consists of a mixture of
soils—limestone, shale and sandstone
-poor farming due to sandy
soil
-this area is good for growing
hardwoods and for its pastures
-elevation of up to 2, 000
feet.
-location of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga
National Military Parks and Cloudland Canyon
2. The Ridge
and Valley Region
-lies between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian
Plateau
-elevation ranges from 700-1,600
feet
-soil is a mixture of shale and
limestone on the ridges and limestone and clay in the valleys
-forests, pastures (beef cattle),
and fertile farmlands (fruits grains and vegetables)
-region runs from Polk and Bartow
counties northward to Chattanooga
-known for apples in Ellijay and
Carpets in Dalton—the “carpet
capital of the world”
-located in the northeastern part of
Georgia
-homes of the highest and largest
group of mountains in Georgia
-this region is extremely important
to Georgia, the mountains are the
first barrier to warm, moist air rising from the Gulf of
Mexico
-when that warm air hits
the mountains, it cools and causes precipitation (rain)
-Eighty
inches of rain per year in this region.
-soil is a blend of
sandy loam (clay, sand, and organic matter)-erodes easily
-Appalachian
trail begins here
-this region is good for hard-wood
forests, vegetables, and apples
-notable places—Tallulah Gorge in
Raburn County, Helen in White County, Amicalola Falls and Dahlonega (the first
gold rush in the United States, 1828)
--Location of
Georgia’s highest point, Brasstown
Bald (4,784 ft elevation), in Townes County.
***All of
Georgia’s 3
northern regions contain parts of the Appalachian Mountain
chain,
4. The Piedmont Plateau
-piedmont=foot of the
mountain
-known as the “heartland” of the
state
-home to about one half of the
states population
-well drained
soils, loam and red clay
-good for hardwood timber, pine, and
agriculture 9soybeans, corn, poultry, and cattle)
-known as the cotton belt during the
antebellum, civil war, and post-war periods
-this area is highly
industrialized
-home to Georgia’s largest cities—Atlanta (the capital), Athens, Madison, and
Milledgeville
-Stone
Mountain is located here
5. The Coastal Plain
-takes up three fifths of the states
land area
-consists of two parts—The Inner
Coastal and the Outer Coastal Plain
--Inner
Coastal Plain
-Mild
Climate
-Good supply of ground
water
-the major agricultural
region of the state
-Vidalia onions (a sweet
onion) grow here
-the Dougherty
Plain……the western corner of the state, is known for peanuts, corn and pecan
trees.
--Outer Coastal
Plain
-Does not have drained
soil
-Known for its naval
stores and pulp production
-Flat and swampy along
the coastline
-home to the
681-square-mile Okefenokee Swamp
c. Locate and evaluate the importance of key physical
features on the development of Georgia; include the Fall Line, Okefenokee Swamp,
Appalachian Mountains, Chattahoochee and Savannah Rivers,
and barrier islands.
Key Physical
Features
-the Fall
Line-geological boundary between the Piedmont and the
Coastal Plain
-twenty miles wide, running from
Columbus to Augusta.
-called the fall line because of all
of the waterfalls located along the rivers
-the cities of Columbus, Macon,
Milledgeville, and Augusta were located along the fall lines of the
Chattahoochee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Savannah Rivers
-These cities are located at the
upstream limit of navigation, ships could not go any further
north
-cargo was transferred from ships
and barges to trains and wagons
-early settlers, and Indians, found
the Fall Line to be a barrier
-the water falls have served as
great way to generate power
Okefenokee
Swamp—“land of trembling earth”
-freshwater wetland—a low-lying area
that holds water
-wildlife refuge—four hundred
vertebrates, two hundred types of birds, and over sixty plus
reptiles
-largest swamp in North America
-received federal wildlife refuge
status in 1937 from Franklin D. Roosevelt
-the southernmost part of the
Appalachian Mountain chain is the Blue Ridge Mountain
Chain
-extends one hundred miles into
Georgia
-Brasstown Bald
-80 inches of rain per year—a major
benefit to Georgia, i.e. drinking water
-Known for tourism
-Outdoor
activities
-the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains forms the Continental
Divide
-determines the
direction in which rivers flow
-rivers west
of the divide empty into the Gulf of Mexico and those east of the divide flow
into the Atlantic
-location of Georgia’s only major coal
deposits.
-Flows from the Blue Ridge Mountains
west towards the Alabama state
line
--flows over the fall
line
-steamboats running from the Gulf of
Mexico to Columbus, a journey that took several months, quickly led to Columbus
becoming a center for the thriving cotton market.
-a fast moving creek northeast of
Atlanta that powered many
sawmills and gristmills
-today, many dams are located along
the river and serve to control floods and generate electricity
-valued more today as source of
drinking water than for transportation purposes.
--Atlanta depends heavily on this river for its water
supply
-serves as the natural boundary
between Georgia and South Carolina
-begins at Lake Hartwell and empties
north of the city of Savannah into the Atlantic Ocean
-the river is a shipping channel for
the port of Savannah—an extremely busy shipping
port
-the river has many dams located
along it that generate hydroelectricity
-a major source of drinking water
for Georgians
-Barrier Islands aka—the “Island of
Gold”
--fourteen islands along the coast
of Georgia
--the islands protect
Georgia’s
mainland by blocking wind, sand and water and preventing
erosion
--they also absorb energy from
hurricanes and tropical storms and protect Georgia’s coastline
--Blackbeard Island, Cumberland
Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, Ossabaw Island, Sapelo Island,
Sea Island, ST. Catherines Island, St. Simons Island, Tybee Island, Wassaw
Island
d. Evaluate the
impact of climate on Georgia’s development
-Climate
-climate-the average weather
condition over a long period of time
-weather-the current atmospheric
conditions
-Georgia is in the warm temperate subtropical
zone
-climate
determines the types of homes, clothing, types of industries, and what crops are
grown in an area.
-Georgia has four distinct
seasons
