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Georgia is a
state in the
Southeastern
United States and was one of the original
Thirteen Colonies
that revolted against
British rule in the
American Revolution.
It was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be
established as a colony, in 1733. It was the fourth
state to ratify the
United States
Constitution, on January 2,
1788. It seceded from the Union
on January 21,
1861 and was one of the original
seven
Confederate states. It was the last state
readmitted to the Union, on July
15, 1870. Georgia is the
ninth-largest state in the nation by population,
with an estimated 9,544,750 residents as of
July 1, 2007.
It is also the third fastest-growing state in terms
of numeric gain and fifth in terms of percent gain,
adding 202,670 residents at a rate of 2.2%. From
2006 to 2007, Georgia had 18 counties among the
nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, the most of
any state. Georgia is also known as the Peach
State and the Empire State of the South.
Atlanta is the most
populous city, and the capital.
Georgia is
bordered on the south by Florida;
on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean and
South Carolina; on the west by
Alabama and by Florida in the
extreme southwest; and on the north by
Tennessee and
North Carolina. The
northern part of the state is in the
Blue Ridge Mountains,
a mountain range in
the vast mountain system of the
Appalachians.
The central
piedmont extends from the
foothills to the fall line,
where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the
continental coastal plain
of the southern part of the state. The highest point
in Georgia is Brasstown
Bald, 4,784 feet (1,458 m); the lowest point is
sea level.
With an area
of 59,424 square miles (153,909 km˛), Georgia is
ranked 24th in size among the 50 U.S. states.
Georgia is the largest state east of the
Mississippi River
in terms of land area, although it is the
fourth largest (after Michigan,
Florida, and Wisconsin) in
total area, a term which includes expanses of
water claimed as state territory.
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