Georgia The Empire State of the South

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2 E N C Y C L O P Æ D I A Britannica DISCOVER AMERICA Georgia The Empire State of the South CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO

3 EB STAFF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Editors Anthony L. Green William L. Hosch Michael I. Levy Robert M. Lewis Amy Tikkanen Jeffrey Wallenfeldt Copy Editors Michael Anderson Andrea R. Field Lorraine Murray Cover Design and Art Kurt Heintz Steve Kapusta WEIGL STAFF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Project Coordinator Michael Lowry Copy Editor Bryan Pezzi This edition published 2008 by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. International Standard Book Number: (Set) International Standard Book Number: (Volume) 2008, 2002 by Weigl Publishers Inc. Additional material 2008, 2005 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ENCYCLOPÆDIA Britannica: DISCOVER AMERICA Volume 10: Georgia 2008, 2005 Britannica.com may be accessed on the Internet at Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Designers Warren Clark Terry Paulhus Photo Researcher Diana Marshall Photograph Credits Every reasonable effort has been made to trace ownership and to obtain permission to reprint copyright material. The publishers would be pleased to have any errors or omissions brought to their attention so that they may be corrected in subsequent printings. Cover: Moss covered trees lining a dirt path in Savannah, Georgia, William Manning/CORBIS; Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau: pages 21T, 28B; City of Atlanta/The Atlanta Cyclorama: page 24BL; CNP/Archive Photos: page 21BR; Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau: page 20B; Corel Corporation: pages 11B, 15BL; Dave Dennis/Tom Stack & Associates: page 7BL; Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism Image Library: pages 3M, 3B, 4T, 4BR, 5T, 5BL, 6T, 6B, 7T, 8BL, 9T, 10T, 10BL, 10BR, 11T, 12T, 12BR, 13T, 13B, 14T, 14B, 15BR, 16T, 16B, 18BL, 19B, 20T, 22T, 22BR, 22BL, 24T, 24BR, 25B, 27T, 27BL, 27BR, 28T, 29T; Georgia Department of Natural Resources: pages 3T, 8T, 8BR, 17BL; Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society: pages 18T, 18BR, 19T; Georgia Secretary of State: page 4BL; Helen Convention & Visitors Bureau: page 23BL; Wally McNamee/CORBIS: page 26B; PhotoDisc, Inc.: pages 15T; Photofest: pages 25T, 26T; Photos.com: page 9B; Flip Schulke/CORBIS: page 7BR; Theatre Gael: page 23T; Visuals Unlimited, Inc.: page 21BL; Marilyn "Angel" Wynn: pages 17T, 17BR, 23BR.

4 CONTENTS Introduction... 4 Land and Climate... 8 Natural Resources... 9 Plants and Animals Tourism Industry Goods and Services Native Americans Explorers and Missionaries Early Settlers Population Politics and Government Cultural Groups Arts and Entertainment Sports Brain Teasers Facts and Resources Glossary Index... 32

5 8 G EORGIA LAND AND CLIMATE Georgia s area includes 1,011 square miles of water. Along the lower Atlantic coast, the growing season can last as long as 300 days per year. Heavy rainfall in the early spring can be quite dangerous, causing floods in some areas of the state. Brasstown Bald, in the Blue Ridge region of the Appalachian Mountains, is the highest point in the state. Its elevation is 4,784 feet above sea level. Georgia has three major regions: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the Appalachian Mountains. The Coastal Plain makes up about three fifths of the state. It extends through the southern part of the state to the Atlantic Ocean and toward Florida and includes the swamplands of the southeast. The forested Appalachian Mountains are in the north. Between the Coastal Plain and the mountains is the Piedmont Plateau, a fertile, hilly area where most of the important cities and farms are located. Georgia s southern location makes for mild winters, with snow rarely falling beyond the northern counties. Georgia s summers are known to be very hot and humid. In the summer the average temperature ranges from 78 F in the northwest to 81 F in the southeast. January s average temperature in the southeast is a mild 54 F, whereas the northwest dips down to 44 F. Temperatures in Georgia rarely reach freezing. Georgia receives 44 to 68 inches of precipitation per year. Reed Bingham State Park attracts many tourists each year. Visitors come to fish, canoe, and water-ski on the lake.

6 G EOGRAPHY 9 NATURAL RESOURCES Several dozen pulp and paper mills operate in Georgia. The state is second only to Alabama in the production of paper and paperboard. Pickens County in northern Georgia is the site of one of the world s largest deposits of marble. More than half of the monuments in Washington, D.C., are made from Pickens County marble. Georgia has the greatest area of commercial forest in the United States. In the 1930s Georgia chemist Charles H. Herty discovered a new use for Georgia pine trees. He developed a way to make newsprint from fastgrowing pines of no use to other industries. Forests are one of Georgia s most important natural resources. The state has 24 million acres of commercial forests. Forestry is a thriving industry that employs more than 70,000 people. Georgia s trees provide various industries with raw materials. The state is a leader in the production of turpentine, a sticky liquid found in some cone-bearing trees. Turpentine is well known as a paint thinner, but it is also used in medicines. Georgia supplies a large amount of lumber and pulpwood to the nation. There are many pulp and paper mills scattered throughout the state. Georgia is an important source of stone and clay. The state supplies several types of clay, such as kaolin. These clays are removed from large open-pit mines. Clay is used to make paper, paint, plastic, and rubber. Marble and granite are both quarried in Georgia. Georgia is the leading producer of kaolin in the United States. Kaolin is a key ingredient in decorative paints and other products.

7 10 G EORGIA PLANTS AND ANIMALS More than 60 state parks protect the lush plant life that is a result of the state s hot, humid climate. The live oak, which is the state tree, prospers in the southern part of the Coastal Plain. More than 20 plant species in the state are threatened or endangered. Floating lily pads and wild orchids grow in the fertile waters of the Okefenokee Swamp. Thick Spanish moss covers the swamp s many cypress trees. Forests take up about two thirds of Georgia s total land area. Trees common to the state are birch, ash, sweet gum, sycamore, bald cypress, sassafras, cottonwood, and pine. Near the coast the undergrowth consists of shrubs, vines, and palmettos. These short plants thrive in the shade of larger trees. Palmettos grow well in sandy soils. In swampy areas bald cypresses and tupelo gums are more common. Georgia s warm climate and fertile soils allow many kinds of flowers to flourish. Flowers native to Georgia include mayapple, bellwort, trillium, violet, daisy, Japanese honeysuckle, lady slipper, and hepatica. The Confederate daisy, also called the Stone Mountain yellow daisy, can be found only within a 60-mile radius of Georgia s Stone Mountain.