Called The Empire State of the South, this South Atlantic State occupies the largest land area of any state east of the Mississippi River. Today Georgia is part of the southeast region known as The Sunbelt. It is a blend of breathtaking natural beauty, tradition, economic clout, and unlimited recreational opportunities--as reflected in its flowering magnolias, 24 million acres of forests, mountains, pristine beaches, magnificent architecture, rushing streams, 350 kinds of birds, caves and canyons, barrier islands, national monuments, and the legendary Augusta National Golf Course which ranks among the best in the nation. Georgia is home to the largest infantry camp in the world; it's the first state to allow women full property rights; home of one of the nation's first state-chartered universities; the first state to grant 18-year-olds the right to vote; the state where the cotton gin was invented and where the use of ether as an anesthetic was discovered; the state from which the first steamship crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Georgia is a state whose culturally diversified population is about to exceed 7,500,000.

Georgia has six land regions. The Appalachian Plateau occupies the northwest corner of narrow valleys and mountains. The Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region in northwest Georgia is divided into broad, fertile valleys separated by long ridges, and its rivers empty into the Tennessee River. The Blue Ridge Mountains in the northeast, blanketed with hardwoods and pines, have peaks that rise nearly 5,000 feet. The Piedmont, a wide belt running east and west through central Georgia, covers one-third of the state. The Atlantic Coast Plain in the southeast is drained by rivers flowing into the Atlantic and The East Gulf Coastal Plain in the southwest by rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico; combined these two regions represent 60% of Georgia's land area. The state's largest rivers are the Savannah, Altamaha, Flint, and Chattahoochee. Its most dramatic waterfalls is scenic Amicalola which drops 729 feet. Major lakes, mostly artificial, include Clark Hill Reservoir, Lake Seminole, Lake Lanier, Lake Sinclair, and Allatoona Lake. Located on Georgia's 100 miles of coastline are the major ports of Savannah and Brunswick. Principal cities are Atlanta, the capital, Savannah, Columbus, Augusta, Macon, and Albany.

Atlanta is the economic center of the south and increasingly the nation. The historic base of the state's economy is agriculture, thanks to a climate and abundant rainfall favorable to a wide variety of crops, including cotton, peaches, peanuts, tobacco, corn. Also key to the economy are forestry and tourism, shipyards and automobile assembly. But the state's economic strength today is in such manufactures as textiles, lumber, paper and pulp, transportation equipment, chemicals, building stone, fertilizer, glassware, rubber and plastics, and food processing. The area is served by the Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport, the Savannah International Airport, two major international seaports, the Intracoastal Waterway, modern highway and rail systems.

Notable points of interest are the Governor's Mansion; Centennial Olympic Park; the Georgia Dome; Georgia's Living History Museum and Learning Center; Jekyl Island; Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge; and Cumberland Island, largest undeveloped island on the Atlantic Coast. Georgia has one of the best park systems in the nation, encompassing more than 77,500 acres of natural beauty that stretches from the mountains to the coast. The system includes Black Rock Mountain State Park, all of the splendor of Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountain country; Indian Springs State Park, said to be the nation's oldest state park; Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park near Warm Springs, site of FDR's Little White House; Magnolia Springs State Park, known for its crystal clear waters; and Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon" in Providence State Park. Other popular attractions are the Carillion at Stone Mountain; Appalachian Trail; Okefenokee Swamp; Lookout Mountain; and Chattahoochee National Forest. Important historic sites include Etowah and Kolomoki Mounds; Fort King George; Picketts Mill Battlefield; Jarrell Plantation; and Dahlonega Gold Museum. Cultural attractions include Atlanta's Symphony Orchestra, Ballet, Cyclorama, and History Center and Scitech; Wren's Nest, the Atlanta home of Joel Chandler Harris, author of the Uncle Remus stories; plus the Telfair Museum of Art and the Tubman African-America Museum. Professional sports: Atlanta Braves major league baseball; Atlanta Falcons NFL football; Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball; and the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Before the white settlers arrived there were the Mound Builders, the Creek Indians, and the Cherokee. The first European to visit the territory was Hernando de Soto in 1540, en route to the Mississippi River from Florida. In 1732 King George II of England granted a charter to a corporation called "Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America," and on February 12, 1733, James Oglethorpe established the colony in his name at Yamacraw Bluff, site of present-day Savannah. Three Georgians--Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton--signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in Philadelphia. On January 2, 1788, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Today, the state's capital city of Atlanta symbolizes Georgia's impressive growth, social change, and economic prosperity.