Georgia (U.S. state)

Located in the Southern region of the U.S., Georgia is bounded to the north by Tennessee as well as North Carolina, to the northeast by South Carolina, to the southeast by the Atlantic, to the south besides Florida, and also to the west by Alabama. Georgia has a population of 3.8 million people and is the 15th most populous state. Georgia is the 24th-largest state in terms of land area and the 8th-most populated state in the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city's population in 2020 was 10,711,908 people. Atlanta, a "beta(+)" global metropolis, serves as both the state's capital and the state's most populous municipality. This metropolitan region, which is expected to have a population of more than 6 million people in 2020, ranks 9th among the most populated metropolitan areas in the United States and is home to around 57 percent of the state's total population.

In 1732, Georgia was formed as a province before becoming a royal colony in 1752. It was the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies to be established, and it was the last to become a royal colony. The Colony of Georgia, which was named after King George II of Great Britain, included a region extending from South Carolina south to Spanish Florida and west to French Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi River. On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, becoming the first since Massachusetts. From 1802 to 1804, western Georgia was divided to establish the Mississippi Territory, which was subsequently admitted to the Union as the states of Alabama and Mississippi in the United States. On January 19, 1861, Georgia proclaimed its secession from the United States of America, and it was one of the first seven Confederate States. It was the final state to be returned to the Union after the Civil War, on July 15, 1870, and it was the first to do so. While Georgia's economy was revolutionised during the post-Reconstruction period, the "New South," a movement founded by Henry W. Grady that advocated for sectional reconciliation, industrialization, and white supremacy, also had an impact on the state's political and economic landscape. At various points throughout the twentieth century, numerous Georgians rose to prominence as civil rights activists and leaders, most notably Martin Luther King, Jr. In the decades after 1945, Georgia has had significant population increase, which may be attributed to the larger Sun Belt phenomena. In the two years between 2007 and 2008, 14 of Georgia's counties were in the top 100 fastest-growing in the US.

Georgia's landscapes, vegetation, and animals are distinguished by their variety. The Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the broader Appalachian Mountain chain, are located in the state's northernmost sections. The Piedmont plateau stretches from the foothills of the Blue Ridge south to the Fall Line, an escarpment that separates the Coastal Plain from the Piedmont plateau and defines the southern section of the state. Brasstown Bald, at 4,784 feet (1,458 metres) above sea level, is Georgia's highest point, while the Atlantic Ocean is the state's lowest. It is important to note that, with the exception of a few high-altitude locations in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the whole state has a humid subtropical climate. Georgia is the most populous and biggest state in terms of land area among the states that are totally east of the Mississippi River.