Finding out about Georgia is easy when you understand where Georgia is located. It is located in the southeastern United States and is the largest state east of the Mississippi. The states that border Georgia are Florida to the south, North Carolina and South Carolina to the east and northeast; Tennessee to the north, and Alabama to the west. Our weather and our physical regions are directly related to the land formation and natural resources of our land formations and that of our neighboring states. There are twenty-four physiographic (natural characteristics of the earth’s surface) patterns in Georgia. These natural divisions may be made up of limestone, clay sediment, shale, or marsh. Scientists, such as geologists and archaeologists have combined these 24 into five major physiographic regions.
To the north and northeast of Georgia, there are mountains similar to those found in North Carolina and South Carolina. This area at the northeastern tip of Georgia forms our Blue Ridge region.

The Blue Ridge Region
The Blue Ridge is a hundred miles wide and has an area of about two thousand square miles. The highest and largest group of mountains in Georgia is in this region. Georgia’s highest peak, Brasstown Bald, is located here.
Georgia’s mountains are very important because they form the first barrier to the warm and moist air traveling from the Gulf of Mexico. When this air travels north from Alabama and through our Coastal Plains regions, it hits our high mountains and immediately becomes cooler. This cool air forms rain and if the temperature is cold enough it can even snow. This precipitation provides water for the entire state. This year our spring and summer provided the most rain we have experienced in years making our lakes and rivers rise.

The Coastal Plain
To the south there are flat lands, and coastal areas, and barrier islands similar to those found in South Carolina and Florida. We call this the Coastal Plain Region.
The Coastal Plain Region is about three-fifths of the state. It is divided into the Inner Coastal Plain and the Outer Coastal Plain. The Inner Plain has a mild climate, a good supply of underground water, and is the major agricultural region of the state. Its soil varies from limestone to clay.
The Outer Plain does not have drained soil to provide fertile farmlands, but it is the center of naval stores and pulp production in the state. Along the coast, the deep harbors and barrier islands offer recreational facilities, seafood gathering and processing industries, and major shipyard ports.