1. Georgia and the American Experience
Chapter 2:
This Place We Call Home
Study Presentation
© 2005 Clairmont Press

2. Georgia and the American Experience
Section 1: Georgia’s Flora and Fauna
Section 2: Georgia’s Natural Resources
Section 3: Georgia’s Waterways

3. Section 1: Georgia’s Flora and Fauna
Essential Question:
What are Georgia’s flora and fauna?

4. Section 1: Georgia’s Flora and Fauna
What geographic terms do I need to know?
-- flora
-- fauna
-- tides
-- watershed

5. 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

6. 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

7. Georgia’s Reptiles and Amphibians
Snakes include Copperheads, cottonmouths (water moccasins), 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

8. Georgia’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
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9. Section 2: Georgia’s Natural Resources
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What are the natural resources of Georgia?

10. Section 2: Georgia’s Natural Resources
What words do I need to know?
stones and mineral resources
kaolin and fuller’s earth
gold

11. Georgia’s Natural Stone Resources
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.

12. Kaolin 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
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13. Section 3: Georgia’s Waterways
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How have waterways influenced Georgia’s exploration, settlement, and economic development?

14. Section 3: Georgia’s Waterways
What words do I need to know?
-- Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
-- Semidiurnal tides
-- Estuaries
-- Reservoir
-- Aquifer

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

18. Coastal Waterways: Sloughs and Estuaries
Freshwater sloughs (pronounced “slaws”) 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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
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