How well do you know Georgia??

Map Skills and ConceptsI Can Statement:

Cardinal Directions / Examples: / Intermediate Directions / Examples
Latitude / Def: / Longitude / Def:
Relative Location / Def: / Absolute Location / Def:
Describe Georgia’s Relative Location: / Describe Georgia’s Absolute Location:

Vocabulary and Review

Where in the World is Georgia?

  • I live in the Galaxy which is where our star the is located. Orbiting around the sun are planets. The third planet from the sun is known as .
  • Earth is a and can be divided into or halves.
  • The and hemispheres are divided by the equator. The equator is a line of latitude that runs in the direction of to .
  • The and hemispheres are divided by the prime meridian. The prime meridian is a line of longitude that runs in the direction of to .
  • There are major continents on earth and I live in the continent of which is located in the and hemispheres on Earth.
  • In North America, I live in the nation of the . I live in the state of

which was the 13th state admitted to the Union.

  • Georgia is located in the region of the United States and is surrounded by the following states (5):
  • I live in the city of, in county which is one of the 159 counties in the state.

NASA - What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?

The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term averages of daily weather. Today, children always hear stories from their parents and grandparents about how snow was always piled up to their waists as they trudged off to school. Children today in most areas of the country haven't experienced those kinds of dreadful snow-packed winters, except for the Northeastern U.S. in January 2005. The change in recent winter snows indicate that the climate has changed since their parents were young.

If summers seem hotter lately, then the recent climate may have changed. In various parts of the world, some people have even noticed that springtime comes earlier now than it did 30 years ago. An earlier springtime is indicative of a possible change in the climate. In addition to long-term climate change, there are shorter term climate variations. This so-called climate variability can be represented by periodic or intermittent changes related to El Niño, La Niña, volcanic eruptions, or other changes in the Earth system.

What Weather Means

Weather is basically the way the atmosphere is behaving, mainly with respect to its effects upon life and human activities. The difference between weather and climate is that weather consists of the short-term (minutes to months) changes in the atmosphere. Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure, as in high and low pressure. In most places, weather can change from minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season. Climate, however, is the average of weather over time and space. An easy way to remember the difference is that climate is what you expect, like a very hot summer, and weather is what you get, like a hot day with pop-up thunderstorms.
Things That Make Up Our Weather
There are really a lot of components to weather. Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, blizzards, ice storms, thunderstorms, steady rains from a cold front or warm front, excessive heat, heat waves and more. In order to help people be prepared to face all of these, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS), the lead forecasting outlet for the nation's weather, has over 25 different types of warnings, statements or watches that they issue. Some of the reports NWS issues are: Flash Flood Watches and Warnings, Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Warnings, Blizzard Warnings, Snow Advisories, Winter Storm Watches and Warnings, Dense Fog Advisory, Fire Weather Watch, Tornado Watches and Warnings, Hurricane Watches and Warnings. They also provide Special Weather Statements and Short and Long Term Forecasts. NWS also issues a lot of notices concerning marine weather for boaters and others who dwell or are staying near shorelines. They include: Coastal Flood Watches and Warnings, Flood Watches and Warnings, High Wind Warnings, Wind Advisories, Gale Warnings, High Surf Advisories, Heavy Freezing Spray Warnings, Small Craft Advisories, Marine Weather Statements, Freezing Fog Advisories, Coastal Flood Watches, Flood Statements, Coastal Flood Statement.
What Climate Means
In short, climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Some scientists define climate as the average weather for a particular region and time period, usually taken over 30-years. It's really an average pattern of weather for a particular region. When scientists talk about climate, they're looking at averages of precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms, and other measures of the weather that occur over a long period in a particular place. For example, after looking at rain gauge data, lake and reservoir levels, and satellite data, scientists can tell if during a summer, an area was drier than average. If it continues to be drier than normal over the course of many summers, than it would likely indicate a change in the climate.
Georgia’s Climate

Georgia has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and mild winters, though the mountainous areas tend to be cooler than that of the rest of the state. Georgia usually has a large amount of precipitation throughout the year and ranges from 45 to 75 inches per year depending on the area, but receives very little snow fall. Georgia is prone to tornadoes and often feels the effects of hurricanes, though the state has not been hit directly since 1898. Georgia’s warm, wet, climate has made it an ideal location from agriculture. From its beginning, Georgia was established for growing crops, and James Oglethorpe and the rest of the trustees hoped its climate would allow for the cultivation of rice, indigo, wine and silk. Though wine and silk proved to be unsuccessful, rice and indigo grew well in Georgia. Once slavery was allowed in the colony, Georgia developed the plantation based agriculture of the rest of the South. Slavery became more entrenched when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793, which in turn, caused the demand for cotton production to increase. After the Civil War, Georgia remained predominately an agricultural state until the 20th century. During this time period most of Georgia’s population was involved in agriculture, primarily working as sharecroppers or tenant farmers. Today, while most Georgians are not involved in agriculture, it is still Georgia’s number one industry. In addition, Georgia’s relatively mild climate has brought many people and businesses to the state, making it the 9th most populous in the nation.

I Can Statement:

NASA - What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?
  1. Describe climate in your own words.
  1. Describe weather in your own words.
  1. List out the different types of weather patterns Georgia experiences.
  1. Would it be easier to detect changes in climate or weather? Explain your answer.
  1. If we have a really hot day tomorrow (100 degrees plus), does that mean our climate is changing? Explain your answer.

I Can Statement:

Map Activity:On the map below, label the following physical features: Fall Line, Okefenokee Swamp, Appalachian Mountains, Chattahoochee River, Savannah River, and the Barrier Islands. Be sure to use different colors for each feature and create a key in the box provided. Along with these label the following cities: Atlanta, Athens, Savannah, Macon, Augusta, Columbus, Albany, Brunswick, and Bainbridge.

Fill in the Blank: (From PPT)

There are several key that have tremendously impacted Georgia’s development, from . It would be in areas with lots of large rocky cliffs, mountains, and waterfalls. It would be extremely , such as a carpet mill, in areas with lots of swamps. If you lived on the ocean, you might want to consider a , or you might want to work at one of Georgia’s .

Important Physical Features of Georgia

Georgia’s coast is among the most popular tourist attractions in the South, and also one of the most historic places in Georgia - it was along the coast where Georgia’s earliest settlements were established. The geography of the Georgia coast has played an important role in the development Georgia as a colony and state, and continues to play a vital role today in modern Georgia. Georgia does not have a long coastline; it extends roughly one-hundred miles from Tybee Island in the north to Cumberland Island in the south. Georgia’s coast is not a continuous beach where sea suddenly meets dry land, but an irregular, beautiful mixture of rivers, streams, swamps, estuaries, and islands. Another important item to note about Georgia’s coast is that it is not a static place; because of tides - the daily rise and fall of the ocean - the points where the ocean touches the land is constantly changing. At low tide, sea level is down and coastal rivers freely flow out into the ocean. But at high tide the ocean level rises by up to seven feet, pushing seawater inland for distances up to ten miles, sometime more. When this happens the coastal rivers overflow their banks and flood low-lying areas, creating saltwater marshes. These marshes are one of the most important geographical features of the Georgia coast.

Saltwater Marshes

There are 400,000 acres of saltwater marshes along Georgia’s coast. Twice each day - at high tide - the Atlantic Ocean floods coastal rivers, streams, and estuaries, causing them to overflow onto low-lying nearby land. Saltmarsh grass, cordgrass, and a few other plants thrive in this environment, marking the beginning of an amazingly rich food chain. The saltwater marshes are teeming with life. Acre for acre they are the most productive land in Georgia. A wide variety of wildlife inhabits the saltwater marshes, including insects, birds - and most important of all - fish, shrimp, and crabs. Here they find food, and safe places to raise their young. Because of Georgia’s saltwater marshes, an important seafood industry has developed along the coast. Saltwater marshes also serve as buffers, helping to protect inland locations from storms. They also filter out many pollutants from coastal rivers before they empty into the Atlantic Ocean. And as many travelers have seen, the saltwater marshes are a delight to view. Here one can see marsh grass swaying in the wind, egrets, herons, and other wading birds, fiddler crabs, and much more wildlife. In the late 19th century the beauty of Georgia’s coastal saltwater marshes inspired poetSidney Lanierto to write “The Marshes of Glynn,” his most famous work.

Barrier Islands

The islands off the Georgia coast are called barrier islands because they form a barrier, or wall, blocking ocean waves and wind from directly hitting the mainland. Georgia has fourteen primary barrier islands - from north to south they are Tybee Island, Little Tybee Island, Wassaw Island, Ossabaw Island, St. Catherine’s Island, Blackbeard Island, Sapelo Island, Wolf Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island, and Cumberland Island (the largest of Georgia’s barrier Islands). Most of Georgia’s barrier islands are protected by the state or federal governments. Some have been reserved as national wildlife refuges and wildernesses, and one - Cumberland Island - is a national seashore. These designations help protect the islands and their plant and animal life from human injury and destruction. Large areas of Georgia’s barrier islands barely rise above sea level and thus exist as saltwater marshes (as mentioned above). Most of the islands are crisscrossed with rivers and streams, making them appear to be several small connected islands.

Georgia’s beaches are found on the seaward side of the barrier islands. The most visited beaches by tourists are on Tybee, St. Simons, and Jekyll Islands. Bridges and elevated highways connect these three islands to the mainland, allowing visits by motor vehicles. Access to the other barrier islands is by boat or helicopter only. Crossing onto the barrier islands one will see boats on the waterway separating the islands from the mainland. This is part of the famous Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which stretches over one thousand miles from Miami to New York. This waterway is another important geographical aspect of the Georgia coast; it allows fishing boats, pleasure craft, and ships to travel along the coast protected from direct ocean winds, waves, and current.

The Fall Line

The Fall Line is a geological boundary about twenty miles wide that runs across Georgia northeastward from Columbus to Augusta. As the Mesozoic shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean, it separates Upper Coastal Plain sedimentary rocks to the south from Piedmont crystalline rocks to the north. The fall line is notable not only for the geological relationship but also for the impact that the geology had on early transportation and consequently on commerce and society.The falls that give rise to the term fall line are the shoals or waterfalls caused by the first exposure of crystalline rocks encountered when traveling upstream in rivers of the Coastal Plain. These falls represent a barrier to navigation. Rivers of the Coastal Plain were a major means of commercial transportation during the 1700s and early 1800s. The cities of Columbus, Macon, Milledgeville, and Augusta were located at the fall lines of the Chattahoochee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Savannah rivers, respectively. They became early centers of commerce because of their positions at the upstream limit of navigation.

The differences in geology to the north and south of the fall line give rise to differences in soil types, hydrology, and stream morphology. Sandy soils predominate to the south of the fall line, whereas clay soils are the rule to the north. Wide floodplains have developed along many of the streams south of the fall line. Narrower stream valleys are present north of the fall line. A consequence of these differences is that the fall line separates significantly different plant and animal communities.

The Okefenokee Swamp

The Okefenokee Swamp covers 700 square miles and is the largest freshwater swamp in North America. Located in southeastern Georgia, the swamp can be found in four Georgia counties (Charlton, Ware, Brantley and Clinch). Native Americans lived in the swamp dating back to the Archaic period. The Choctaw Indians gave the swamp its name which means “land of the trembling earth”. The most famous Indian tribe that lived in the swamp was the Seminole, which fought two wars against the United States in the Okefenokee area. White families began settling in the area in 1805. From 1910 until 1937, before Franklin Roosevelt established 80% of the Okefenokee as a wildlife refuge, the swamp was a major source of timber. Now, protected by the federal government, over hundreds of animal species live in the area, the most well-known being the American alligator.

The Appalachian Mountains

The southernmost point of the Appalachian Mountains is located in Georgia. Georgia’s highest peaks are in the Appalachian Mountain ranges and they can be found in the three mountain regions. In the southern states, these mountains are often called the Blue Ridge due to the blue haze that appears around their peaks. Long ago, the Appalachians were some of the tallest mountains in the world, though millions of years of erosion have weathered them tremendously. Today, the highest peak in Georgia is Brasstown Bald, which has an elevation of over 4700 feet above sea level. In comparison, the highest peak in the continental United States is Mt. Whitney which is almost 14,500 feet.

The Chattahoochee River

The Chattahoochee River begins it journey to the Gulf of Mexico in the Blue Ridge Region of the state and forms part of the border between Alabama and Georgia. Native Americans long used the river as a food and water source, as did Georgia’s European settlers. Due to the Fall Line, the Chattahoochee becomes difficult to navigate between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions, though river traffic was important during the 1800s from the Gulf of Mexico to the city of Columbus. Today, the Chattahoochee is used primarily as a water source for the millions of Georgians living in the Piedmont area, though the river is also used for industry and recreation as well. Note: The states of Florida and Alabama have sued Georgia due to its unrestricted rights over the use the river. Students can examine the arguments of all sides of the issue and then debate if Georgia should be allowed to have unrestricted rights to the river. Have students develop a plan that would be the most beneficial to all parties involved.

The Savannah River

The Savannah River forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina. One of Georgia’s longest waterways, the Savannah River begins in Hart County, forms Lake Hartwell, and then flows to the Atlantic Ocean. The river has been a source of water, food, and transportation for thousands of years. Paleo Indians lived around the river and Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto was the first European to cross it. James Oglethorpe chose a site 18 miles upriver to create Georgia’s first city, Savannah. Today, the river is navigable for over 200 miles between the city of Savannah and Augusta. In addition to shipping, the river is used as a major source of drinking water for Savannah and Augusta, to cool two nuclear power plants in South Carolina, and to generate hydroelectric power.