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Georgia is located in the southeastern region of the United States. It contains 57,919 square miles
(150,009 square kilometers or 15,000,952 hectares) of land, and 1,522 square miles (3,942 square
kilometers or 394,196 hectares) covered by water. The state’s total area of 59,441 square miles
(153,951 square kilometers or 15,395,148 hectares) makes it the 24th largest among the United States
and the largest in land area east of the Mississippi River. The state is bordered to the north by
Tennessee and North Carolina, Florida to the south, Alabama and part of Florida to the West, and
South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
The Peach State contains many interesting features: salt marshes, barrier islands, ancient mountains,
and pine forests, to name a few. Georgia is divided geographically into six land areas: the
Appalachian Plateau, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont, the Atlantic
Coastal Plain, and the East Gulf Coastal Plain. Georgia’s highest point, at 4,784 feet (1.46
kilometers) above sea level, is Brasstown Bald, also known as Mount Etonah. The lowest point in the state is to
the east, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
Major rivers in the Peach State include the Chattahoochee, Savannah, and Suwannee Rivers. Major lakes
include Lake Hartwell, Clark’s Hill Lake, and West Point Lake.
Georgia’s climate is influenced by its location along the Atlantic Ocean, proximity to the Gulf of
Mexico, and by elevation variation in the state. Much of the Peach State can be characterized as a
humid subtropical climate, with hot, moist summers and mild winters. Summers experience many days
with temperatures over 90 degrees F (32.2 degrees C); July high temperatures average around 78 degrees
F (25.6 degrees C). In the mountains and Piedmont areas, however, temperatures are cooler overall.
The lowest temperatures occur in January and average from 39 degrees F (3.9 degrees C) in the
northeast, to 44 degrees F (6.7 degrees C) in the Piedmont, with warmer temperatures of about 54
degrees F (12.2 degrees C) along the coast. Georgia is notably humid, and receives an average of 50
inches (127 centimeters) of rain per year in the lowlands, increasing to about 75 inches (190.5
centimeters) annually in the mountains. Snowfall is occasional during winter, and generally only
significant in mountainous areas. Thunderstorms and tornadoes can occur in the Peach State, which is
also vulnerable to Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico hurricanes.
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