Georgia Georgia and the American Experienceand the American Experience

Chapter 2:Chapter 2:This Place We Call HomeThis Place We Call Home

Study Presentation Study Presentation

Georgia Georgia and the American Experienceand the American Experience

Section 1: Georgia’s Flora and FaunaSection 1: Georgia’s Flora and Fauna

Section 2: Georgia’s Natural ResourcesSection 2: Georgia’s Natural Resources

Section 3: Georgia’s WaterwaysSection 3: Georgia’s Waterways

Section 1: Georgia’s Flora and Fauna

• Essential Question:– What are Georgia’s flora and fauna?

Section 1: Georgia’s Section 1: Georgia’s Flora and FaunaFlora and Fauna

• What geographic terms do I need to know?

-- flora

-- fauna

-- tides

-- watershed

What is Flora?What is Flora?

• Flora: Plants, flowers, and trees• 180-day growing period in north Georgia• 270-day growing period in the coastal region• 23 million acres of forested land• Rome’s Marshall Forest: Only virgin forest

within a city limits in the United States• State known for giant live oaks, pines, peach

trees, pecan trees, dogwoods, and cherry blossoms

What is Fauna?• Fauna: Animals, reptiles, birds, and sea life• White-tailed deer, squirrels, opossums, bats,

rabbits, hares, raccoons, and gray foxes• State marine mammal: Right (Baleen) whale• State bird: Brown thrasher; other birds

include quail, doves, hummingbirds, and woodpeckers

Georgia’s Reptiles and Georgia’s Reptiles and Amphibians Amphibians

• Snakes include copperheads, cottonmouths (water moccasins), coral snakes, and rattlesnakes

• American alligators live in the Coastal Plain region

• Endangered loggerhead sea turtles live along the barrier islands

• 24 types of frogs, four species of toads, and 36 kinds of salamanders

Georgia’s Fish and Sea LifeGeorgia’s Fish and Sea Life

• Trout fishing is popular in north Georgia• Large-mouth bass found across the

state in ponds and lakes• Blue crabs and pink shrimp popular

along the golden isles region• Shad, a fish delicacy found in the

Ogeechee River near Savannah, has a short harvesting season

This alligator was photographed having lunch at Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge.

This Burmese Python burst after swallowing a 6-ft. alligator. The snake was 13 ft. long.

Section 2: Georgia’s Section 2: Georgia’s Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• ESSENTIAL QUESTION– What are the natural resources of

Georgia?

Section 2: Georgia’s Section 2: Georgia’s Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• What words do I need to know? – stones and mineral resources

– kaolin and fuller’s earth

– gold

Georgia’s Natural Stone Georgia’s Natural Stone ResourcesResources

• Marble is found primarily in Gilmer, Hall, and Pickens counties

• Granite is found mainly in Elbert and DeKalb counties

• Stone Mountain, in DeKalb County, is the world’s largest exposed granite rock

• Limestone and slate are mined in Georgia.

Kaolin and Fuller’s earthKaolin and Fuller’s earth

• Clay products; very profitable• Fuller’s earth: Mined in Decatur, Grady,

Jefferson, and Thomas counties• Fuller’s earth is an absorbent used in kitty litter,

for oils and grease, and in soaps and medicines• Kaolin: Mined in Fall Line counties in east-

central Coastal Plain• Kaolin used in paper coating, paint filler, plastics

and rubber, as base for porcelain products

Section 3: Georgia’s Section 3: Georgia’s WaterwaysWaterways

• ESSENTIAL QUESTION– How have waterways influenced

Georgia’s exploration, settlement, and economic development?

Section 3: Georgia’s Section 3: Georgia’s WaterwaysWaterways

• What words do I need to know?

-- Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway

-- Semidiurnal tides

-- Estuaries

-- Reservoir

-- Aquifer

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway

• 1,000-mile inland waterway that runs from New York to Miami, Florida

• Between Georgia’s barrier islands and the Georgia coast

• gives commercial and recreational boating traffic safety from storms, strong currents, and waves of ocean routes.

• Savannah and Brunswick are Georgia’s two deep water ports

Georgia’s Tides Georgia’s Tides

• A tide is a rise or fall of the sea level caused by gravitational pull of the sun and the moon

• Georgia’s coastline has six-foot to 9-foot tides (unusual)

• Georgia has semidiurnal tides (two high tides and two low tides daily)

• Spring tides (tides at highest) and neap tides (tides at their lowest)

Coastal Waterways: The Saltwater Marshes

• Four- to six-mile band of saltwater marshes are between barrier islands and the mainland

• These marshes cover about 500,000 acres • Cordgrass makes up 95 percent of the

saltwater marsh vegetation• Sand fiddlers, mud fiddlers, snails, and crabs

are common • Provide food for herons, egrets, ibis,

sandpipers, and the endangered wood storks

Coastal Waterways: Sloughs and Estuaries

• Freshwater sloughs (pronounced “slews”) are small ponds, swamps, and freshwater marshes

• Develop from marsh creeks that lose tidal flow• Provides fresh water for forest animals• Estuaries occur when freshwater rivers and

salt water mix; include tidal rivers, sounds, and marsh creeks

• Crab, shrimp, fish, and shellfish thrive in these waters

Georgia’s Rivers • Twelve principal river systems • Savannah, Ogeechee, Altamaha (which

combines Oconee and Ocmulgee), and Satilla rivers flow into Atlantic Ocean

• Chattahoochee and Flint rivers become part of Gulf of Mexico

• Oostanaula and Etowah rivers form the Coosa River, which flows through Alabama to the Gulf.

• Alapaha, Suwannee, and St. Mary’s form the Georgia-Florida border

Georgia’s Lakes

• No large natural lakes, but network of lakes formed from river system

• Many large lakes created by U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Georgia Power Company

• Carter Lake, Lake Lanier, Walter George, West Point, and Seminole generate hydroelectric power

• Thurmond Lake, Lake Oconee, and Lake Hartwell provide fishing, recreation, and boating opportunities

Georgia’s Ports

• Bainbridge and Columbus harbor two inland barge terminals

• Savannah’s port, the nation’s fifth largest container port, focuses on containerized cargo

• Brunswick’s port handles auto shipping, heavy equipment, farm machinery, and luxury tour buses

Reservoirs and Aquifers

• Little groundwater in northern half of Georgia

• Manmade Reservoirs (holding tanks) provide much water for northern Georgia

• Georgia major aquifers (natural water storage tanks) are in Coastal Plain

• Augusta features a nine-mile canal; today it is a National Park Heritage Area

This Confederate powder mill was located on the Augusta Canal.

This photograph shows one of the canals locks. Locks routed water to the textile mills and other industries.

Towpath on the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal.

One of the canal’s 6 locks located between the Ogeechee and Savanannah rivers.

Floodgate on the Savannah-Ogeechee canal. The gates could be opened by one man.