Metro Atlanta, designated by the

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

in the U.S. state of Georgia and the eighth-largest in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its economic, cultural and demographic center is

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and its total population was 6,144,050 according to the 2021 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. The metro area forms the core of a broader trading area, the Atlanta–Athens-Clarke–Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area. The

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

spans up to 39 counties in north Georgia, and one county in Alabama,

Chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: * Chambers Township, Ontario United States: * Chambers County, Alabama *Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County *Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia *Chambers Township, Holt ...

. The Combined Statistical Area recorded in the 2020 census a population of 6,930,423. Atlanta is the second-largest metropolitan area in the Census Bureau's Southeast region, behind that of Greater Washington, D.C. It surpassed the Greater Miami area in total population in 2021.

Definitions

By U.S. Census Bureau standards, the population of the Atlanta region spreads across a metropolitan area of – a land area comparable to that of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Because Georgia contains more counties than any other state except

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(explained in part by the now-defunct county-unit system of weighing votes in

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s), area residents live under a heavily decentralized collection of governments. As of the 2000 census, fewer than one in ten residents of the metropolitan area lived inside Atlanta city limits. A 2006 survey by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce counted 140 cities and towns in the 28‑county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in mid-2005. Nine cities –

Johns Creek Johns Creek is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population was 82,453. The city is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. History In the early 19th century, the Johns Creek area was dotted with ...

(2006),

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

(2006),

Chattahoochee Hills Chattahoochee Hills (formerly Chattahoochee Hill Country) is a city in southern Fulton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 2,378 living in an area of just over . The population in 2019 was estimated to 3 ...

(2007),

Dunwoody Dunwoody is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. As a northern suburb of Atlanta, Dunwoody is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It was incorporated as a city on December 1, 2008 but its area establishment dates back to ...

(2008),

Peachtree Corners Peachtree Corners is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and is the largest city in Gwinnett County with a population of 42,243 as of the 2020 US Census. Peachtree Corners is the only ...

(2012), Brookhaven (2012),

Tucker Tucker may refer to: Places United States * Tucker, Arkansas * Tucker, Georgia * Tucker, Mississippi * Tucker, Missouri * Tucker, Utah, ghost town * Tucker County, West Virginia Outer space * Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...

(2016), Stonecrest (2016) and South Fulton (2017) – have incorporated since then, following the lead of Sandy Springs in 2005. The Atlanta metropolitan area was first defined in 1950 as

Fulton Fulton may refer to: People * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship * Fulton (surname) Given name * Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer * Fult ...

, DeKalb,

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton C ...

Cobb Cobb may refer to: People * Cobb (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Cobb * Cobb Rooney (1900–1973), American professional football running back Places New Zealand * Cobb River * Cobb Reservoir * Cobb Power ...

and Clayton counties. Walton,

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

, Fayette,

Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...

, Henry,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, Rockdale, and Butts counties were added after the 1970 census, with Barrow and Coweta counties joining in 1980 and Bartow, Carroll, Paulding, Pickens and Spalding counties in 1990. Atlanta's larger

combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

(CSA) adds the Gainesville and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

metropolitan areas plus

LaGrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaThomaston,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kansas *Calhoun, Kentucky ...

, and Cedartown micropolitan areas, for a total 2012 population of 6,162,195. The CSA also abuts the Macon and

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

MSAs. The region is one of the metropolises of the Southeastern United States, and is part of the emerging megalopolis known as Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion along the

I-85 Corridor Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...

. In 2019, the name of the MSA was changed from Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell to Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta.

Metropolitan statistical area

The counties listed below are included in the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. However, some entities define a much smaller metropolitan area by including only the counties which have the densest suburban development. Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton were the five original counties when the Atlanta metropolitan area was first defined in 1950, and continue to be the core of the metro area. These five counties along with six more (Cherokee, Douglas, Fayette, Henry, Rockdale, and Forsyth) are members of the Atlanta Regional Commission, a weak metropolitan government organization which also is a regional planning agency. The eleven ARC counties, bolded, and four more (Bartow, Coweta, Hall, Paulding), with an asterisk (*), form part of the

Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District is a water district that covers all of metro Atlanta, and the nearby part of its headwaters in north Georgia. Established by the 146th Georgia General Assembly in 2001, it includes 15 counties ...

, created in 2001.

Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area

The 12 counties listed above with under 85,000 residents are usually not included in any other metropolitan definition except the OMB/Census Bureau's MSA and CSA. Hall County forms the Gainesville MSA, but with astronomical growth to over 200,000 residents, is now also part of the Atlanta CSA. The official tourism website of the State of Georgia features
"Metro Atlanta" tourism region
that includes only eight counties: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette, and Henry.

Combined statistical area

Atlanta GA-AL Combined Statistical Area

Municipalities

Edge cities

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Perimeter Center Perimeter Center is a major edge city in Atlanta metropolitan area, metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is centered on Perimeter Mall, the nucleus around which it has formed. Perimeter Center is located north of Atlanta proper, and lies with ...

* Hartsfield-Jackson area * Gwinnett Place/ Sugarloaf area More than one half of metro Atlanta's population is in unincorporated areas or areas considered a census-designated-place (CDP) by the census bureau. One notable example is

East Cobb East Cobb is an unincorporated community in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, with a population of 175,890 people. It is an affluent northern suburb of Atlanta. History The area was developed as a suburb of Atlanta beginning in the 1960s. In c ...

, an unincorporated area (though not a CDP) adjacent to

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

and Roswell in Cobb County. With an estimated population of approximately 208,000 as of 2019, it would be the second largest city in the metro besides Atlanta if incorporated. Metro Atlanta includes the following incorporated and unincorporated suburbs (both inside and outside Atlanta), exurbs, and surrounding cities, sorted by population according to 2010 census data (or later data if the city was incorporated after 2010 and census data is unavailable):

Cities and suburbs

Principal city *

pop. 498,044 Places with 75,000 to 99,999 inhabitants * South Fulton (incorporated 2017) pop. 95,158 * Sandy Springs pop. 93,853 * Roswell pop. 88,346 *

pop. 76,728 Places with 50,000 to 74,999 inhabitants * Alpharetta pop. 57,551 *

pop. 56,579 * Stonecrest (incorporated 2016) pop. 53,490 *

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

pop. 51,271 Places with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants *

pop. 46,267 *

(incorporated 2012) pop. 43,905 * Brookhaven (incorporated 2012) pop. 40,456 *

Mableton Mableton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. According to the 2020 census, Mableton has a population of 40,834. Upon Brookhaven's cityhood in December 2012, Mableton became ...

(CDP) 37,115 * Peachtree City pop. 34,364 * Gainesville pop. 33,804 *

East Point East Point is the name of several places: In Australia * East Point, Northern Territory ** East Point Military museum located in East Point, Northern Territory In Canada *East Point, Prince Edward Island In Hong Kong: *East Point, Hong Kong In ...

pop. 33,712 *

(incorporated 2016) pop. 33,380 *

Newnan Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010. History Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Coun ...

pop. 33,039 * Redan (CDP) pop. 33,015 *

pop. 32,661 *

Douglasville The city of Douglasville is the county seat of Douglas County, Georgia, Douglas County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. , the city had a population of 34,650, up from 30,961 in 2010 United States census, 2010 and 20,065 in 2000 Uni ...

pop. 30,961 * Kennesaw pop. 29,783 *

Chamblee Chamblee ( ) is a city in northern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. The population was 30,164 as of the 2020 census. History The area that would later become Chamblee was originally dairy farms. During the late ninet ...

pop. 29,231 * Lawrenceville pop. 28,546 * Carrollton pop. 26,738 * Duluth pop. 26,660 * Stockbridge pop. 25,636 Places with 24,999 or fewer inhabitants *

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

pop. 23,896 *

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

pop. 23,643 * Candler-McAfee (CDP) pop. 23,025 *

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

pop. 22,958 * McDonough pop. 22,084 * Acworth pop. 20,425 *

Cartersville Cartersville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,187. Cartersville is the county seat of Bartow Cou ...

pop. 19,731 * Union City pop. 19,456 * Decatur pop. 19,335 * North Druid Hills (CDP) pop. 18,947 * Sugar Hill pop. 18,522 *

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

pop. 18,468 *

Snellville Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. The population was 18,242 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 20,077. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metr ...

pop. 18,242 *

North Decatur North Decatur is a census-designated place (CDP) in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 16,698 at the 2010 census. Geography North Decatur is located at (33.803054, -84.290123). According to the United States Census Bureau ...

(CDP) pop. 16,698 * Fayetteville pop. 15,945 * Lithia Springs (CDP) pop. 15,491 * Suwanee pop. 15,355 *

Conyers Conyers is an Atlanta suburb, the county seat of and only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, Rockdale County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The city is 24 miles (38.6 km) east of Atlanta, downtown Atlanta and is a part of t ...

pop. 15,195 * Belvedere Park (CDP) pop. 15,152 * Riverdale pop. 15,134 *

Druid Hills Druid Hills is a community which includes both a census-designated place (CDP) in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, as well as a neighborhood of the city of Atlanta. The CDP's population was 14,568 at the 2010 census. The ...

(CDP) pop. 14,568 * Winder pop. 14,099 * Villa Rica pop. 13,956 * College Park pop. 13,942 *

Powder Springs Powder Springs is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,940 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population for 2019 of 15,758. In 2015, the city elected its first black mayor, Al Thurman. He was the first African- ...

pop. 13,940 * Monroe pop. 13,478 *

Covington Covington may refer to: People * Covington (surname) Places United Kingdom * Covington, Cambridgeshire * Covington, South Lanarkshire United States * Covington, Georgia * Covington, Indiana * Covington, Kentucky, the largest American cit ...

pop. 13,118 * Fairburn pop. 12,950 * Buford pop. 12,225 * Lilburn pop. 11,596 * Mountain Park (Gwinnett) (CDP) pop. 11,554 *

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

pop. 11,544 * Loganville pop. 10,458 *

Panthersville Panthersville is a census-designated place (CDP) in DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 9,749 at the 2010 census. History The community most likely was named after a Cherokee Ind ...

(CDP) pop. 9,749 * Vinings (CDP) pop. 9,734 * Tyrone pop. 9,534 * Thomaston pop. 9,170 * Norcross pop. 9,116 * Doraville pop. 8,330 * Clarkston pop. 7,554 *

Braselton Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,652. ...

pop. 7,511 * Irondale (CDP) pop. 7,446 * Centerville (CDP) pop. 7,148 * Hampton pop. 6,987 *

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

(CDP) pop. 6,887 * Barnesville pop. 6,775 *

Austell Austell is a city in Cobb and Douglas Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,713. History The area that is now Austell was frequented by game ...

pop. 6,581 *

Morrow wikt:morrow, Morrow is a word meaning "the next day" in literary English. It also means "morning" in archaic English Morrow may also refer to: Places in the United States and Canada United States *Morrow, Arkansas *Morrow, Georgia *Morrow, Louis ...

pop. 6,445 *

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

pop. 6,422 *

Hapeville Hapeville is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, that is 2.5 square miles wide. Hapeville is located inside I-285 between the city of Atlanta to its North and the Atlanta International Airport to its south. The population was 6,553 ...

pop. 6,373 * Conley (CDP) pop. 6,228 * Stone Mountain pop. 5,802 *

Flowery Branch Flowery Branch is a city in Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,391. It is part of the Gainesville, Georgia metropolitan area, and lies on the shores of Lake Lanier. History Flowery Branch wa ...

pop. 5,679 * Cumming pop. 5,430 * Locust Grove pop. 5,402 * Jonesboro pop. 4,724 *

Palmetto Palmetto (meaning "little palm") may refer to: Palms Several small palms in the Arecaceae (palm tree) family: *in the genus '' Sabal'': **Bermuda palmetto, ''Sabal bermudana'' **Birmingham palmetto, ''Sabal'' 'Birmingham' **Dwarf, or bush palm ...

pop. 4,448 *

Dacula Dacula ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is an exurb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. The population as of the 2010 census was 4,442, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population to be 6, ...

pop. 4,442 *

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

(CDP) pop. 3,135 * Avondale Estates pop. 2,960 *

Lakeview Estates Lakeview Estates, also known as Sunrise Lakes by local residents, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rockdale County, Georgia, Rockdale County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 2,637 at the 2000 census. Lakeview ...

(CDP) pop. 2,695 *

Grayson Grayson may refer to: Places Canada * Grayson, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan United States * Grayson, California * Grayson, Georgia ** Grayson High School * Grayson, Kentucky * Grayson, Louisiana * Gra ...

pop. 2,666 * Lake City pop. 2,612 *

pop. 2,378 *

Lithonia Lithonia (, ; AAVE: ) is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The city's population was 2,662 at the 2020 census. Lithonia is in the Atlanta metropolitan area. "Lithonia" means "city/town of stone". Lithonia is in the heart ...

pop. 1,924 * Berkeley Lake pop. 1,574

Geography

Topography and geology

The area sprawls across the low

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

to the north and the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

to the south. The northern and some western suburbs tend to be higher and significantly more

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

y than the southern and eastern suburbs. The average elevation is around . The highest point in the immediate area is

Kennesaw Mountain Kennesaw Mountain is a mountain between Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgia in the United States with a summit elevation of . It is the highest point in the core (urban and suburban) metro Atlanta area, and fifth after further-north exurban counties ...

at , followed by Stone Mountain at , Sweat Mountain at , and

Little Kennesaw Mountain Little Kennesaw Mountain is a mountain in Cobb County, Georgia, northwest of Marietta and south of Kennesaw. It is a sub-peak of Kennesaw Mountain, the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil Wa ...

at . Others include Blackjack Mountain,

Lost Mountain Lost Mountain is a mountain in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, located approximately 10 miles northwest of Antlers, Oklahoma. It is a part of the Kiamichi Mountains, a subrange of the Ouachita Mountains. Its summit is 791 feet above sea level.Oklah ...

, Brushy Mountain, Pine Mountain, and

Mount Wilkinson Mount Wilkinson is a low mountain immediately north-northwest of and directly overlooking downtown Vinings, in southeast Cobb County, Georgia, USA. Although it rises significantly from the surrounding terrain, it is actually at or slightly belo ...

(

Vinings Mountain Mount Wilkinson is a low mountain immediately north-northwest of and directly overlooking downtown Vinings, Georgia, Vinings, in southeast Cobb County, Georgia, Cobb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, USA. Although it rises sig ...

). Many of these play prominently in the various

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

s of the Atlanta Campaign during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. If the further-north counties are included, Bear Mountain is highest, followed by

Pine Log Mountain Pine Log Mountain is located in the U.S. state of Georgia with a summit elevation of . The peak is three miles west of the town of Waleska separated only by the gated community of Lake Arrowhead. The summit falls within Cherokee County, althou ...

Sawnee Mountain Sawnee Mountain is a low mountain between the piedmont and Appalachian foothills of the U.S. state of Georgia, north of Atlanta. Average rainfall/46.26in/yr/ average snowfall/5.7in/yr/. The name Sawnee Mountain actually refers to the entire rid ...

, and

Hanging Mountain Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary' ...

, followed by the others listed above. Stone, Sweat, Bear, and Sawnee are all home to some of the area's broadcast stations. The area's

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus, and it ...

is a dense clay soil, colored

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...

y by the

iron oxide Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of whic ...

present in it. It becomes very

mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

dy and sticky when wet, and hard when dry, and

stain A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon. They are caused by the chemical or physical interaction of two dissimilar materials. Accidental staining may make materials app ...

s light-colored

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

s and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

easily. It also tends to have a low pH, further aggravating gardeners. The fineness of it also means it is easily deposited into streams during heavy rains, creating

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

problems where it is exposed due to construction. This transported red soil can be seen downstream on the riverbanks of south Georgia (where the native clay is white), and down to the

Florida panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

(where the native

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

is also white).

Topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

is present only in natural forest areas, created by the

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

Earthquakes and fault lines

An extinct fault line called the Brevard Fault runs roughly parallel to the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...

, but as its last movements were apparently

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

, it is considered extinct and not a threat to the region. Still, minor

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s do rattle the area (and all of Georgia) occasionally. One notable one was in April 2003 (magnitude 4.6) coming from the northwest, its epicenter just across the state line in northeastern Alabama. While many people slept through the 5A.M. quake, it caused a minor panic in others completely unaware of what was happening. Similar earthquakes occur in this region called the

Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone (ETSZ), also known as the East Tennessee Seismic Zone and the Southern Appalachian Seismic Zone, is a geographic band stretching from northeastern Alabama to southwestern Virginia that is subject to frequent small ...

, often felt much more widely across the stronger crust of eastern North America as compared to the west. Thus, the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina earthquake was also felt in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. It caused damage as far as central Alabama and West Virginia. Two small earthquakes were also felt on the southeast side near Eatonton in early April 2009. The New Madrid Seismic Zone (near the Missouri-Tennessee borders) and the seismic zone producing the 1886 magnitude 7.3 earthquake are still capable of producing moderate or major earthquakes, which the entire Atlanta area will feel moderately or even strongly.

Climate

The Atlanta metro area has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

with four

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

s, although summer is the longest. January daily lows average from north to south, and highs range from , but often reach well above or below this average. There is an average annual snowfall of about , falling mostly from December through March, though there was snow north of the city on April 3, 1987. Snow flurries are actually common during the winter months when there is an especially deep trough in the jet stream. These events usually do not amount to more than a slight dusting and therefore go unrecognized in most weather summaries. Summers, by contrast, are long and consistently hot and humid, with July mornings averaging and afternoons averaging , slight breezes, and typically a 20–40% chance of afternoon

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

s. During the summer afternoon thunderstorms, temperatures may suddenly drop to 70–77 degrees with locally heavy rainfall. Average annual rainfall is about , with late winter and early spring (as well as July) being the wettest and fall (especially October) being the driest. From 1878 to 2011, the highest recorded temperatures at Atlanta were on three days in the extraordinarily hot July 1980, followed by that month and in August 2007, the hottest month ever for the area. This was broken on the last day of June 2012, when the temperature reached , during a massive

heat wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

that hit most of the country, with another 105 the next day tying the July record. The lowest recorded temperatures were and on January 20 and 21 of 1985, and on February 13, 1899, during severe cold snaps that went so far south they devastated the entire

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

industry in

central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

. Hurricane Opal brought sustained

tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

conditions to the area one night in early October 1995, uprooting hundreds of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and causing widespread power outages, after soaking the area with rain for two days prior. Since 1950 some metro counties have been hit more than 20 times by tornadoes, with Cobb (26) and Fulton (22) being two of the highest in the state. The Dunwoody tornado in early April 1998 was the worst

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

to have struck the area. A tornado struck downtown Atlanta in March 2008, causing a half-billion dollars in damage, one of the most expensive storms ever recorded anywhere. The area experiences a

winter storm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

with significant

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

fall about once each year, however this can be extremely irregular with several consecutive years receiving no measurable snow. A blizzard (see:

1993 Storm of the Century The 1993 Storm of the Century (also known as the 93 Superstorm, The No Name Storm, or the Great Blizzard of '93/1993) was a cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993. The cold weather, heavy snowfall, high winds and st ...

) caught much of the Southeast off-guard in 1993, dumping at the Atlanta airport on March 13, and much more than that in the suburbs to the north and west, as well as in the mountains. The only other recorded winter storm of comparable severity was the Great Blizzard of 1899. The heaviest snow, however, was in January 1940, when buried the city during its coldest month on record. The second-heaviest was in 1983, when a very late storm dumped on March 24.

Ice storms An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on ex ...

have also occurred in the area. The well-remembered 1973 ice storm was brutal as was the storm in 1982. The Southeastern U.S. drought of 2006–2008 began with dry weather in 2006, and left area

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s very low. The drought finally began to abate significantly after the

2009 Atlanta floods The September 2009 Southeastern United States floods were a group of floods that affected several counties throughout northern Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The worst flooding occurred across the Atlanta metropolitan area ...

, when some areas got up to of rain in a week, with half of that falling in just 24 hours near the end of the period. The

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

calculated it to be a greater-than-

500-year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...

Environment

The area's prolific rains are drained by many different

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s and creeks. The main basin is that of the

, running northeast to southwest. The further northwestern suburbs drain into the

Etowah River The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, north of Atlanta. On Matthew Carey's 1795 ...

via the Little River and

Lake Allatoona Lake Allatoona (officially called Allatoona Lake) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Etowah River in northwestern part of the State of Georgia. This reservoir is mostly in southeastern Bartow County and southwestern Cherokee Coun ...

. The southern suburbs are drained by the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the u ...

, and the east-southeastern ones by the Oconee River and

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

. By 2005 the metro area was using of water per day (about per person per day) from these rivers. This usage was reduced by more than 10% during the drought, but soared back up after watering restrictions were eased (and before the flooding ensued). The need for water is seen as a barrier to further growth in the area, but permanent measures for non-emergency

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Populati ...

have never been put in place. The state legislature has refused to pass a requirement for low-flow toilets to be installed in homes that are sold, bowing to

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

from the

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

industry. Disputes over water are becoming increasingly common, with both

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

filing

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

s and threatening

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

s to prevent Georgia from taking too much water, mostly for metro Atlanta.

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

also threatened when a

pipeline Pipeline may refer to: Electronics, computers and computing * Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on ** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...

east to the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

was mentioned even informally. The state has now been ordered by a judge to reduce withdrawals from the Chattahoochee south of Lanier to 1970s levels within three years (2012), something that would create an immediate emergency water shortage if it were actually enforced.

Flora

The native

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

canopy is mainly

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, redbud,

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

, poplar,

tuliptree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, and

sweetgum ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae ...

, with

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

having been common decades before in what is now considered oak-hickory forest.

Saw palmetto ''Serenoa repens'', commonly known as saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus ''Serenoa''. It is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around . It is endemic to the subtropical and tropical Southeastern United S ...

, Sabal palmetto and

Trachycarpus fortunei ''Trachycarpus fortunei'', the Chinese windmill palm, windmill palm or Chusan palm, is a species of hardy evergreen palm tree in the family Arecaceae, native to parts of China, Japan, Myanmar and India. Description Growing to tall, ''Trachyca ...

have become common ornamentals as well. Traveling from the south, the metro area is generally the first area in which autumn leaf color can be seen, due to the different trees growing at the higher elevation and

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

. Underneath, the flowering dogwood is very common, the black cherry are quite prolific, with

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

popping up sometimes as well.

Sourwood ''Oxydendrum arboreum'', the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus ''Oxydendrum'', in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern I ...

is also in its native range, and is easily identified by the fact that it turns fiery red in early October, much brighter and weeks earlier than most other trees (which usually peak in early November). Shrubby plants include

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

horsechestnut The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species n ...

, sumac, and sometimes

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

Virginia creeper ''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'', known as Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from southeastern Ca ...

, poison ivy, and briar are common

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

s. The Confederate yellow daisy is a

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

native only to the area around Stone Mountain. Common garden plants include dogwood,

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

, hydrangea, flowering cherry,

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

s, pin oak, red-tip photinia, holly,

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

, white pine,

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

Bradford pear ''Pyrus calleryana'', or the Callery pear, is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is most commonly known for its cultivar 'Bradford' and its offensive odor, widely planted throughout the United States a ...

forsythia ''Forsythia'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family Oleaceae. There are about 11 species, mostly native to eastern Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe. ''Forsythia'' – also one of the plant's common names – is ...

, liriope (

mondograss ''Ophiopogon japonicus'' (dwarf lilyturf, mondograss, fountainplant, monkeygrass; ja, リュウノヒゲ ''ryu-no-hige'' ("dragon's beard") or ジャノヒゲ ''ja-no-hige'' ("snake's beard") is a species of ''Ophiopogon'' native to China, Indi ...

), and English ivy. Lawns can be either cool-season

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es like

fescue ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...

and

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

, or warm-season like zoysia and

bermudagrass ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasiv ...

which turn brown in late fall. A few homeowners associations actually prohibit green grass in the winter. Native to the nearby mountains, maples are now one of the most common landscape trees for new homes and parking lots, giving their color in the fall instead of spring. When planted close to buildings (which provide shelter and radiate heat), they can retain some of their color into December, especially if November has been warm. Common lawn weeds are

mock strawberry ''Potentilla indica'', known commonly as mock strawberry, Indian-strawberry, or false strawberry, often referred to as a backyard strawberry, mainly in North America, is a flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It has foliage and an aggregate ac ...

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

wild onion Wild onion can refer to * any uncultivated species in the genus ''Allium'', especially: **''Allium bisceptrum'' ** ''Allium canadense'' ** ''Allium tricoccum'' ** ''Allium validum'' ** ''Allium vineale'' * ''Asphodelus tenuifolius'' * ''Cyperus bulb ...

, and of course the ubiquitous dandelion, crabgrass, and plantain. By far the most notorious

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

kudzu Kudzu (; also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot) is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands, but invasive species, invasive in many ...

, a highly

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

which climbs and smothers trees and shrubs. New effective herbicides as well as increased development of formerly rural areas has greatly reduced kudzu in the metro area (although still quite common elsewhere in Georgia). Wisteria planted decades ago by farmers in then-rural areas has become wild and is common in undeveloped forests. Some vines exceed 50 years of age and cover dozens of acres of forest, creating a dense, purple explosion each spring. Japanese honeysuckle is extremely common, its fragrance an early summer delight. A common ornamental shrub, the

Chinese privet ''Ligustrum sinense'' (Chinese privet; syn. ''L. villosum''; in Mandarin: 杻; pinyin: chǒu) is a species of privet native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam,Flora of China''Ligustrum sinense''/ref> and naturalized in Réunion, the Andaman Islands, ...

, has escaped to become the state's most invasive non-native plant species.

Fauna

Among

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, the eastern gray squirrel is by far the most ubiquitous, stealing birdseed from the

bird feeder A birdfeeder, bird table, or tray feeder are devices placed outdoors to supply bird food to birds (bird feeding). The success of a bird feeder in attracting birds depends upon its placement and the kinds of foods offered, as different species h ...

s which many locals maintain. Chipmunks and small brown

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s are common, but it is relatively rare to hear of them doing any damage.

Opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...

, raccoons,

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es,

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

s and

armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along wi ...

s are frequently seen. Garden and meadow snakes are common; six venomous

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...

snakes ( Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake,

pygmy rattlesnake :''Common names: pygmy rattlesnake, eastern pygmy rattlesnake, ground rattlesnake, leaf rattler, death rattler, more.'' Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing A ...

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (''Calliophis'', '' Hemibungarus' ...

water moccasin ''Agkistrodon piscivorus'' is a species of pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers (along with the Florida cottonmouth), and is native to the southeastern United States. A ...

and

copperhead Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * ''Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Tas ...

) are indigenous, but reports of bites are rare. Many types of frogs, including tree frogs and bullfrogs, are easily heard in early summer, as are cicadas in July and August. Black bears occasionally wander down from the mountains, and

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

are abundant; overpopulated in some areas. Homeowners in the outer suburbs are prone to landscaping damage due to scavenging deer. The most common

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s are the brown thrasher (the GA state bird), American crow, European (or common) starling,

American robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closel ...

, mourning dove,

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...

northern cardinal The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis'') is a bird in the genus ''Cardinalis''; it is also known colloquially as the redbird, common cardinal, red cardinal, or just cardinal (which was its name prior to 1985). It can be found in southea ...

house finch The house finch (''Haemorhous mexicanus'') is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other two American rosef ...

Carolina chickadee The Carolina chickadee (''Poecile carolinensis'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The Carolina chickadee is often placed in the genus ''Parus'' with most other tits, but mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' sequence data an ...

tufted titmouse The tufted titmouse (''Baeolophus bicolor'') is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). The black-crested titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southward, was included as a subspecies, ...

, bluejay,

white-breasted nuthatch The white-breasted nuthatch (''Sitta carolinensis'') is a species of bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring approximately in length. Coloration varies somewhat along the species' range, but the are lig ...

, eastern bluebird, mockingbird, brown-headed nuthatch, and Carolina wren. Birds of prey thrive in the area, with three varieties of hawks common near open fields in even the most populated areas. Falcons roost on skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta and can be regularly seen feasting on pigeons. The American kestrel is sometimes seen. Late in the year, three species of owls can be heard nightly in wooded areas. Various woodpeckers can be seen in forested lots, including the red-bellied woodpecker, northern flicker (also known as the "yellow-shafted flicker"), and the downy woodpecker. The red-headed woodpecker is common in open fields and on golf courses. The American goldfinch is present mostly in winter, and the ruby-throated hummingbird only in summer.

Government and politics

In geographic terms, Georgia has the smallest average county size of any state. This focuses government more locally but allows greater conflict between multiple jurisdictions, each with its own agenda. The first significant intergovernmental agency in metro Atlanta was the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, which runs the MARTA public transportation system. Alongside other factors such as racism, race and socioeconomic class, class, as well as a lack of planning and perceived lack of need, problems associated with the inner city of Atlanta (crime, poverty, and poor public school (government funded), public school performance) influenced Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton county voters to refuse to allow construction of MARTA into their respective counties during the 1970s. These decisions resulted in permanent effects on land development in the region, making use of private automobiles even more of a necessity. The Atlanta Regional Commission is so far the closest that the area has come to a metropolitan government. It approves only those projects deemed to have a positive effect beyond the immediate area in which they are to be constructed. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority is somewhat of a cross between ARC and MARTA, working to improve mobility, air quality, and land use practices in the region. GRTA also operates Georgia Regional Transportation Authority#'Xpress' service, Xpress buses from 11 counties, and could operate commuter rail service in the future. Currently, plans for commuter rail and eventual intercity rail (including the long-proposed but still unfunded Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal) are the responsibility of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority, which receives almost no funding. Since 2007 proposals have been floated to allow new multi-county sales taxes, in addition to existing county sales taxes for roads, to pay for regional transportation initiatives.

Demographics

The 2020 census counted 6,089,815 people in the 28-county metro area. This was an increase of 803,087 versus the same 28-county area in 2010. The population increased by 15.2% between 2010 and 2020, less than the 28.6% increase between 2000 and 2010. Atlanta MSA in 2000 did not include Butts, Dawson, Haralson, Heard, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, and Pike counties, whose population totalled in 2000: 135,783; in 2010: 156,368 (2.96% of total new 28-county metro)
Compares the larger 28-county Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta MSA 2010 with a smaller 20‑county Atlanta MSA 2000; however the 8 new counties represent less than 3% of the larger 28‑county metro.
Source: for race and Hispanic population, U.S. Census Bureau 2010 and 2000 census; for foreign-born population: US Census Bureau 2010 and 2000 American Community Surveys
''Immigrants in 2010 Metropolitan America'', Brookings Institution
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Race and ethnicity

White Americans made up 55.4% of metro Atlanta's population in 2010, a relative decrease from 63.0% ten years earlier, but in absolute numbers their population increased by over 330,000. Non-Hispanic whites proportionally dropped from 59.5% to 50.7% of the metro's population, while increasing by about 224,000. Black Americans are the largest racial minority with 32.4% of the population in 2010, up from 28.9% in 2000. The city of Atlanta has long been regarded as a "black mecca" for its role as a center of black education, political power, wealth, and culture. From 2000 to 2010, the geographic distribution of blacks in Metro Atlanta changed radically. Long concentrated in the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County, the black population there dropped as more than half a million African Americans settled across other parts of the metro area, including approximately 112,000 in Gwinnett County, 71,000 in Fulton outside Atlanta, 58,000 in Cobb, 50,000 in Clayton, 34,000 in Douglas, and 27,000 each in Newton and Rockdale counties. Due to its availability of jobs, Atlanta has been a destination for young college-educated blacks in the New Great Migration, Reverse Great Migration of African Americans from the North since the turn of the 21st century, with many settling quickly into suburban locations. The metropolitan area has the second highest total African American population of any metropolitan area, with only the New York City metro area having more. Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group. At 10.4% of the metro's population in 2010, versus only 6.5% in 2000, the metro's Hispanic population increased an astounding 109.6%, or 298,459 people, in ten years. Major Hispanic groups include 354,351 Mexican American, Mexicans, 43,337 Puerto Rican American, Puerto Ricans and 17,648 Cuban American, Cubans. All of those groups' populations increased by over 90% in the ten-year period. Of the metro's 299,000-person increase in the Hispanic population from 2000 to 2010, 98,000 were in Gwinnett County, 57,000 in Cobb, 55,000 in Fulton (all but 3,000 outside the city of Atlanta), 20,000 in Hall, and 15,000 in DeKalb County. The Asian American, Asian-American population also increased rapidly from 2000 to 2010. There were 296,956 Asian-Americans in the metro area in 2010, making up 5.9% of the population. This represented an 87% increase over 2000. The largest Asian groups are 108,980 Indian American, Indian-Americans, 93,870 Korean American, Korean-Americans, 67,660 Chinese Americans, Chinese-Americans, and 66,554 Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-Americans. Atlanta also has Georgia's largest Bosnian American, Bosnian-American population, with approximately 10,000 in the metro area, mainly in Gwinnett County. Metro Atlanta has an increasingly international population, with 716,434 foreign-born residents in 2010, a 69% increase since 2000, with suburban Gwinnnett County being one of the most diverse counties in the Southeastern United States. This was the fourth largest rate of growth among the nation's top 100 metros, after Baltimore, Orlando and Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas. The foreign-born proportion of the population went up from 10.3% to 13.6%, and Atlanta moved up from 14th to 12th in ranking of U.S. metro areas with the largest immigrant population by sheer numbers. Still, its 13.6% proportion of immigrants is only the 29th highest of the nation's top 100 metros. Metro Atlanta's immigrants are more suburban than those of most cities. Out of the top 100 U.S. metros, Atlanta has the 11th highest ratio of the foreign-born living in the suburbs and not in the core city. Atlanta has a few ethnic enclaves such as a Koreatown, and areas such as the Buford Highway Corridor in DeKalb County and parts of Gwinnett County are commercial centers for multiple ethnic communities. In 1990, greater Atlanta had the largest Japanese population in the Southeast United States. The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta estimated that, during that year, 7,500 to 10,000 Japanese lived in greater Atlanta. Of the metropolitan areas in the Southeast United States, as of 1990 greater Atlanta had the most extensive education network for Japanese nationals.Lively, Kit.
EDUCATION IS MADE IN JAPAN, EXPORTED TO ATLANTA
" ''Orlando Sentinel''. December 24, 1990. A1. Retrieved on January 11, 2012.

Language

In 2008, approximately 83.3% of the population five years and older spoke only English language, English at home, which is roughly 4,125,000 people. Over 436,000 people (8.8%) spoke Spanish language, Spanish at home, giving Metro Atlanta the List of U.S. cities by Spanish-speaking population, 15th highest number of Spanish speakers among American metropolitan areas (MSAs). Over 193,000 people (3.9%) spoke other Indo-European languages at home. People who speak an Languages of Asia, Asian language at home numbered over 137,000 and made up 2.8% of the population.

Economy

The Atlanta area is home to 31 Fortune 1000 headquarters. 2022 rankings: The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is the sixth district of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States and is headquartered in Midtown Atlanta, midtown

. The Atlanta Fed covers the U.S. states of

, and Georgia, the eastern two-thirds of Tennessee, the southern portion of Louisiana, and southern Mississippi as part of the Federal Reserve System.

Utilities

The area is the world's largest toll-free calling zone spanning , has four active telephone telephone numbering plan, area codes, and local calling extending into portions of two others. area code 404, 404, which originally covered all of northern Georgia until 1992, now covers mostly the area inside the Perimeter (Atlanta), Perimeter (Interstate 285). In 1995 the suburbs were put into area code 770, 770, requiring mandatory ten‑digit dialing even for local calls under Federal Communications Commission, FCC rules. This made Atlanta one of the US's first cities to employ ten-digit dialing, which was begun by BellSouth the year before the Centennial 1996 Olympic Games. In 1998, area code 678, 678 was overlaid onto both of the existing 404 and 770 area codes. Mobile phones, originally only assigned to 404, may now have any local area code regardless of where in the region they were issued. Area code 470, the newest area code, was overlaid with 404 and 770 in the same fashion as 678. The local calling area also includes portions of area code 706, 706/762 and a small area of area code 256, 256 in

on the Georgia border. The city of Atlanta is the most wired city in the United States. Many residents access the internet on a high-speed broadband and/or WiFi connection. It is home to one of the world's largest fiber-optic bundles. Major petroleum and natural gas pipeline transport, pipelines cross the area, running from the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast,

, and Louisiana to the population centers of the Northeastern United States, Northeastern U.S. This includes Colonial Pipeline and Plantation Pipeline, both based in Alpharetta. Metro Atlanta primarily uses natural gas for central heating and water heating, water heaters, with the major exception of heat pumps in apartments built during and since the 1980s. This is because winters are mild, and large apartment buildings usually require little energy to heat. Backup heat (also used during defrosting) is usually supplied by electric resistance heating, though some homes have hybrid heating units which use gas backup when it is cold. Exurban homes may also use all-electric instead of gas, if gas mains have not been extended to an area. Cooktops and ovens are a mix of gas and electric, while gas clothes dryers are rather rare. with a manual-valve gas starter, and some are now equipped with permanent gas logs with electric fireplace, electric switch start. Some homes also have natural gas grill (cooking), barbecue grills, formerly sold at utility company stores. Georgia Power is the main electric power company across the state and the metro area, beginning in 1902 as Georgia Railway and Power Company, Atlanta's streetcar (tram, trolley) company. Several electric membership corporations also serve the suburbs. These include the second-largest EMC in the nation in Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, Jackson EMC, Cobb EMC, Walton EMC, and Sawnee EMC. The city of Marietta operates its own electric utility, Marietta Power, under the Board of Lights & Water (BLW). It is also a member of the Municipal Electric Association of Georgia (MEAG). Atlanta Gas Light is the natural gas utility for the region, and has been so for over a century and a half, since it installed gas lamps in Atlanta in 1856. It operated as a regulated monopoly until November 1998, the after the state legislature voted in early 1997 to deregulate natural gas marketing, and make customers choose among nearly 20 different marketers still selling the same AGL-wholesaled gas, such as Gas South, Infinite Energy, SCANA and Georgia Natural Gas. Most of the gas comes via

from Louisiana. Water is provided by various county and a few city systems. Several of these systems actually serve parts of neighboring counties and cities as well. The Cobb-Marietta Water Authority serves not only Cobb, but also parts of neighboring Paulding and Cherokee counties, for example. During drought or other emergency, cities and counties can enact outdoor water-use restrictions, however some cross-jurisdiction water systems have also acted to put bans in place. In late September 2007, the state Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, stepped-in with its first-ever ban, covering most of the northern half of the state. While surface water is by far the primary source of water for the region, the drought had many systems (and a few wealthy homeowners) drilling new water well, wells for ground water, though the local water table is around deep, on average. sanitary sewer, Sewerage is also handled by the water utilities, but the various water and sewer networks may not conform to the same boundaries, resulting in interbasin water transfers. This is for practical reasons, because the area is hilly and divided by several drainage divide, watersheds, because the area has developed irregularly and erratically, and because water treatment plants are usually not near sewage treatment plants. Septic tanks are still used in the older homes of some exurbs.

Housing

Low-density residential subdivision development dominates the metro Atlanta suburbs. Changes in house price index, house prices for the metro area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20‑city composite (finance), composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Community improvement districts

All of Georgia's community improvement districts are located in metro Atlanta. * Buckhead Community Improvement District, covering Buckhead (Atlanta), Buckhead * Perimeter Center Community Improvement Districts, covering the

area of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody/ * Cumberland Community Improvement District, around Cumberland Mall (Georgia), Cumberland Mall * Town Center Area Community Improvement District, around Town Center at Cobb mall * Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District, around Gwinnett Place Mall
Gateway85 Community Improvement District
covering area southeast of Norcross * Evermore Community Improvement District, or Highway 78 Community Improvement District, covering part of the U.S. 78 corridor in Gwinnett near Snellville * Lilburn Community Improvement District, established early 2010 in Lilburn *Aerotropolis Atlanta CIDs *Boulevard CID (industrial district), created 2010 In May 2016, the City of Atlanta launched Atlanta City Studio, the city's first "pop-up urban design laboratory focused on shaping the future of city neighborhoods." The studio hosts "lectures, open forums, urban art presentations and other neighborhood and design components." Atlanta City Studio will relocate twice per year in order for residents to interact with staff and share their ideas about improving city design. The studio is located on the second floor of Ponce City Market and in January 2017 will relocate "to a retail location on the Westside, possibly on MLK Jr. Drive or Cascade Road."

Education

Colleges and universities

* Agnes Scott College – Decatur * Atlanta Metropolitan State College –

* Atlanta Technical College – Atlanta * Atlanta University Center – Atlanta ** Clark Atlanta University ** Morehouse College ** Morehouse School of Medicine ** Spelman College * Brenau University – Gainesville * Chattahoochee Technical College – Acworth and

* Clayton State University –

* Columbia Theological Seminary – Decatur * Emory University – Atlanta * Georgia College – Milledgeville, Georgia, Milledgeville * Georgia Gwinnett College – Lawrenceville * Georgia Institute of Technology – Atlanta * Georgia Piedmont Technical College – Clarkston * Georgia State University – Atlanta ** Georgia Perimeter College, Perimeter College – Alpharetta, Clarkston,

, Decatur and

* Gwinnett Technical College – Lawrenceville * Interdenominational Theological Center – Atlanta * Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, John Marshall Law School – Atlanta * Kennesaw State University – Kennesaw and Marietta * Lanier Technical College – Gainesville, Cumming, Winder, Dawsonville, Georgia, Dawsonville and Commerce, Georgia, Commerce * Life University – Marietta * Mercer University – Atlanta * Morris Brown College – Atlanta * Oglethorpe University – Brookhaven * Oxford College of Emory University, Oxford College – Oxford, Georgia, Oxford * Reinhardt University – Waleska, Georgia, Waleska * Savannah College of Art and Design – Atlanta * Southern Crescent Technical College –

* University of North Georgia – Gainesville * University of West Georgia – Carrollton and

* West Georgia Technical College – Carrollton,

, Newnan and Waco, Georgia, Waco

School districts

* Atlanta Public Schools *Barrow County Schools *Bartow County School District * Buford City School District *Butts County School District *Carroll County School District (Georgia), Carroll County School District *Carrollton City School District *Cartersville City School District *Cherokee County School District (Georgia), Cherokee County School District *Clayton County Public Schools *Cobb County Public Schools *Coweta County School System *Dawson County School District *Decatur City School District *DeKalb County School System *Douglas County School District *Fayette County School System (Georgia), Fayette County School System *Forsyth County Schools * * Fulton County Public Schools *Gainesville City School District *Griffin-Spalding County School District * Gwinnett County Public Schools *Hall County School District *Haralson County School District *Heard County School District *Henry County School District *Jasper County School District *Lamar County School District (Georgia), Lamar County School District *Marietta City Schools (Georgia), Marietta City School District *Meriwether County School District *Morgan County School District *Newton County School System, Newton County School District *Paulding County School District *Pickens County School District *Pike County School District *Rockdale County School District *Social Circle City School District *Walton County School District *

Healthcare

The area is served by a network of healthcare facilities including private practice, urgent care, hospital systems, and specialty care facilities. There are approximately 37 hospitals serving the metro. There are both private for profit systems and community not-for-profit systems.

Hospitals with # beds

''Trauma Centers - Level I * ; Level II **'' Children's Healthcare of Atlanta *Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Egleston Hospital - Atlanta - 235 *Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Hughes Spalding Hospital - Atlanta - 82 *Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite Hospital - Sandy Springs - 319 Emory Healthcare *Emory University Hospital - Atlanta - 733 *Emory University Hospital-Midtown - Atlanta - 511 *Wesley Woods, Emory University Hospital-Wesley Woods - Atlanta - 71 *Emory University Orthopedic and Spine Hospital - Tucker - 75 *Emory Decatur Hospital - Decatur - 422 *Emory Hillandale Hospital - Lithonia - 90 *Emory Johns Creek Hospital - Johns Creek - 118 *Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital - Sandy Springs - 356 Grady Memorial Hospital - Atlanta - 974 * Northeast Georgia Medical Center - Gainesville - 872 ** Northside Hospital *Northside Hospital, Northside Hospital Atlanta - Sandy Springs - 621 *Northside Hospital Cherokee - Canton - 126 *Northside Hospital Duluth - Duluth - 81 *Northside Hospital Forsyth - Cumming - 304 *Gwinnett Medical Center, Northside Hospital Gwinnett - Lawrenceville - 353 ** Piedmont Hospital *Piedmont Hospital, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital - Atlanta - 512 *Piedmont Eastside Hospital - Snellville - 287 *Piedmont Fayette Hospital - Fayetteville - 290 *Piedmont Henry Hospital - Stockbridge - 341 *Piedmont Mountainside Hospital - Jasper - 52 *Piedmont Newnan Hospital - Newnan - 154 *Piedmont Newton Hospital - Covington - 94 *Piedmont Rockdale Hospital - Conyers - 138 *Piedmont Walton Hospital - Monroe - 77 Shepherd Center - Atlanta - 152 WellStar Health System, Wellstar Health System *Atlanta Medical Center, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center - Atlanta - 528 * *Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center-South - East Point - 198 *Wellstar Cobb Hospital - Austell - 387 *WellStar Douglas Hospital, Wellstar Douglas Hospital - Douglasville - 102 *WellStar Kennestone Hospital, Wellstar Kennestone Hospital - Marietta - 662 ** *Wellstar North Fulton Hospital - Roswell - 202 ** *Wellstar Paulding Hospital - Hiram - 294 *Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital - Griffin - 160 Veterans Administration Medical Center, Veterans Administration Health Care *Veterans Administration Medical Center - Decatur

Media

Radio

* Q99.7, 99.7 Atlanta's Hit Music * Star 94, 94.1 * The River, 97.1 * V-103, 103.3 – Contemporary and Classic R&B and Hip-Hop * El Patron 105.3 – Atlanta's #1 Hit Regional Mexican Station * Radio 105.7 * Power 96.1 – Atlanta's New Hit Music Station * praise 102.5 * Bull 94.9 * Rock 100.5 * hot 107.9 – Atlantas #1 hip hop station * 104.7 The Fish * WSB Radio 95.5FM and 750AM * WREK 91.1 - Georgia Tech's Student Radio

TV

* CNN * Turner Broadcasting * The Weather Channel * Georgia Public Broadcasting (PBS), 9 stations * Adult Swim

Print

* ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'' * ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' * ''Atlanta (magazine), Atlanta Magazine'' * ''Atlanta Parent'' * ''The Atlantan'' * ''Gwinnett Daily Post'' * ''Jezebel'' * ''Marietta Daily Journal''

Culture and attractions

Professional sports teams

Former teams include the Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames) and Atlanta Thrashers (now Winnipeg Jets), both of the National Hockey League. Atlanta also plays host to one NASCAR Cup Series race each year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Atlanta metropolitan area is also home to three Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I programs, with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Georgia State Panthers in Atlanta proper and the Kennesaw State Owls in Kennesaw. Both Georgia Tech and Georgia State are members of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Sun Belt Conference, respectively, while Kennesaw State is a member of the ASUN Conference in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision; however, Kennesaw State accepted an invitation to move up to the FBS level from Conference USA starting in 2024.

Performing arts venues

* Atlanta Symphony Hall * Alliance Theatre, Alliance Theater * Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Cobb Energy Centre * Fox Theatre (Atlanta), Fox Theatre * Infinite Energy Arena * Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center * Spivey Hall

Museums

* Center for Puppetry Arts * Children's Museum of Atlanta * Delta Flight Museum * Fernbank Museum of Natural History * Fernbank Science Center * High Museum of Art * Jimmy Carter Library and Museum

Amusement

* College Football Hall of Fame * Georgia Aquarium * Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament * National Center for Civil and Human Rights * Six Flags Over Georgia * Six Flags White Water * World of Coca-Cola * Zoo Atlanta

Parks

* Atlanta Botanical Garden * The BeltLine, Beltline * Centennial Olympic Park * Chastain Park * Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area * Clayton County International Park/The Beach * Freedom Parkway, Freedom Park * Grant Park, Atlanta, Grant Park * Historic Fourth Ward Park * Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park * Piedmont Park * Stone Mountain * Woodruff Park

Festivals

*Music Midtown

Other

* CNN Center

Military presence

* Dobbins Air Reserve Base * Fort Gillem, closed * Fort McPherson, closed

Transportation

The U.S. Census Bureau has defined a metropolitan area for Atlanta which includes, but is not limited to, Roswell, Georgia and Sandy Springs, Georgia. According to the 2016 American Community Survey, about 78% of working metropolitan residents commuted by driving alone, 9% carpooled, 3% used public transportation, and 1% walked. Less than 1% of working residents commuted by bicycle, while about 2% of commuters travelled by all other means. About 7% of residents worked at home.

Transit systems

Atlanta has always been a rail town, and the city once had an extensive Streetcars in Atlanta, streetcar system, which also provided interurban service as far out as Marietta, to the northwest. The streetcars were replaced by an extensive Trolleybuses in Atlanta, trolleybus system, supplemented by buses, in the 1940s and 1950–52, and then converted to all buses in the 1950s and 1960–62. However, building a modern rapid transit system proved a difficult and drawn-out process and, compared to the original plans for a regional system, has only partially been accomplished. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, MARTA operates buses and a subway system in the city of Atlanta, Fulton, Clayton and Dekalb counties, while Cobb Community Transit, Cobb and Gwinnett County Transit, Gwinnett counties operate their own independent Suburban Transit Systems that feed into MARTA. This is a result of those counties' refusal to join the MARTA system (although Gwinnett voted in March 2019 to join MARTA again), a situation which was originally closely related to white flight from the city. It is the only US system in which the state does not provide any funds for operation or expansion, instead relying entirely on a 1% sales tax in its three counties. Due to the passage of a 1% sales tax in Clayton County on November 4, 2014, MARTA replaced the defunct C-Tran system bringing buses and commuter rail to the county beginning March 2015, with full bus service in 2016. The Atlanta Streetcar, a light rail loop, connects Centennial Olympic Park and MARTA heavy rail subway to the Sweet Auburn district and points in between. GRTA Xpress, Xpress GA, a suburban commuter bus service operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA, has over 32 routes running from the suburbs and exurbs to downtown Atlanta in 12 metropolitan counties. Plans are underway for commuter rail and bus rapid transit (BRT), though these are some years away. The $20 billion Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT project appears to conflict with other plans, such as the metro-wide Concept 3 approved by the Transit Planning Board, and the no-Jersey barrier, barrier High-occupancy toll lane, HOT lanes on I‑85 in Gwinnett. MARTA is also considering a BRT line of its own to the east. The first commuter rail line would run south of the city, eventually extended to

and possibly Hampton near Atlanta Motor Speedway. The "Brain Train" would likely be the second route, connecting the University of Georgia in Athens to Emory University and Georgia Tech in Atlanta. As planned, all commuter trains would arrive at the Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT), the long-delayed facility just across Peachtree Street from the Five Points (MARTA station), Five Points MARTA station, where all of its lines meet. Planning for the system and its extension as intercity rail across the state are the responsibility of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority. Another proposed plan that has received very strong grassroots support in recent years is the BeltLine, a Green belt, greenbelt and transit system that takes advantage of existing and unused rail tracks to set up a light rail or streetcar circuit around the core of Atlanta, as well as establishing more Open space reserve, green space and footpaths for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Commercial railways

Before Atlanta was even a city, it was a railroad Transport hub, hub. From this came the joke, popular among other SCulture of the Southern United States, Southerners, that "regardless of whether one goes to heaven or hell, everyone must go through Atlanta first". Many of its suburbs pre-date it as depots or train stations along the major lines in and out of town. Many of these historic stations, including Atlanta's Atlanta Union Station (1930), Union Station and Terminal Station (Atlanta), Terminal Station, were demolition, demolished like many county courthouses and other historic buildings. Many have been saved however, including the L&N station in Woodstock, and the stations along the main W&A line in Marietta and Smyrna. Through mergers, the main railroads in the area are now Norfolk Southern and CSX. The Georgia Northeastern Railroad is a short-line railroad, short line that also services part of the area. There are also several railyards of Atlanta and vicinity, as well as the Southeastern Railway Museum and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, more commonly known as Amtrak, runs the intercity rail line Crescent (Amtrak), Crescent through metro Atlanta twice daily, with one train heading towards New Orleans and the other headed towards New York (city), New York. All trains make a scheduled stop at Peachtree Station in northern Midtown Atlanta, but it is also possible for arrange for trains to stop in Gainesville, Georgia as well.

Air

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport and is the only international airport for the region (and only major international airport for the state), and as with rail travel, it became the ubiquitous place through which everyone must travel at some point. Atlanta's second airport is in the very preliminary discussion and study phase. Domestic-only carriers from Atlanta: * Alaska Airlines * American Airlines * Frontier Airlines * JetBlue Airways * Spirit Airlines * United Airlines Domestic and international from Atlanta: * Delta Air Lines * Southwest Airlines Foreign-based international carriers: * Aeromexico * Air Canada * Air France (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * British Airways * KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Joint venture with Delta Air Lines) * Korean Air * Lufthansa German Airlines * Qatar Airways * Turkish Airlines * Virgin Atlantic * WestJet Other airports (maintained by local counties) include Charlie Brown Field (Fulton), McCollum Field (Cobb), Cartersville Airport (Bartow), DeKalb Peachtree Airport (DeKalb), Briscoe Field (Gwinnett), Coweta County Airport (Coweta), Cherokee County Airport (Georgia), Cherokee County Airport (Cherokee), Clayton County Airport - Tara Field, Atlanta Speedway Airport (Henry), and Paulding County Airport (Paulding). Former local airports were Stone Mountain Airport and Parkaire Field, among others. DeKalb Peachtree Airport is the primary business jet airport. This is due to its proximity to Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and the Perimeter office areas.

Roads and freeways

Atlanta is served by three major interstate highways. Including tributaries, they are the following: (Note: The cities used below are also the control cities used for the Metro Atlanta Bypass/I-285 signs entering from the suburbs.) Interstate 75 in Georgia, Interstate 75 passes through from Macon to the south, and from Chattanooga to the north. Interstate 575 is a spur which merges with I‑75 near Kennesaw. I‑575 serves northeast portions of Cobb County and a large portion of Cherokee County. It ends in Ball Ground. Interstate 675 (Georgia), Interstate 675 is a route which connects I‑75 in Henry County to I‑285 in southern Dekalb County. Most of the corridor is within Clayton County. Interstate 85 in Georgia, Interstate 85 passes through from Montgomery on the southwest and from Greenville on the northeast. I-75 merges with I-85 to form the Downtown Connector from the Brookwood Interchange, just north of Midtown Atlanta, to just south of the Lakewood Freeway in south Atlanta. Interstate 185 (Georgia), Interstate 185 is a spur which merges with I‑85 in LaGrange and stretches southward to Columbus. Interstate 985 is a spur which merges with I‑85 in Suwanee and serves the northern suburbs of Gwinnett and Hall Counties. It terminates just northeast of Gainesville. Interstate 285 (Georgia), Interstate 285 is the beltway which encircles the city and its immediate eastern suburbs. It is commonly known as the Perimeter. I‑285 passes through Clayton, Cobb, Fulton, and DeKalb Counties. Interstate 20 in Georgia, Interstate 20 passes through from Birmingham to the west and from Augusta to the east. It serves Douglasville, the major suburb west of Atlanta. It serves Lithonia and Conyers to the east. Atlanta is also served by several other freeways, in addition to the interstate highways, including: Georgia 400 is the main corridor serving the north-central suburbs, and was the only toll road in the metropolitan Atlanta area. As of November 23, 2013, the tolls ended and the toll plazas were demolished. It reaches into the northern portion of Fulton County and gradually turns northeast before entering Forsyth County. The controlled-access portion terminates just northeast of the city of Cumming. To the south, it terminates and merges into southbound I‑85 just south of the Buckhead business district. Cumming/Dahlonega is used on I‑285 as the northbound sign, and Atlanta/Buckhead as the southbound. From I‑85 northbound, it uses Buckhead/Cumming. Stone Mountain Freeway, or U.S. 78, is an 8‑mile corridor east of Downtown Atlanta and the neighboring suburb of Decatur. It serves northeast portions of Dekalb County, including the city of Stone Mountain. It continues east as a divided highway into south Gwinnett County, including the suburb of Snellville. U.S. 78 also stretches east to Athens. Lakewood Freeway, or Georgia State Route 166, Georgia 166, extends between Lakewood Park in south Atlanta and Campbellton Road, just west of I‑285. Peachtree Industrial Blvd, or Georgia State Route 141, Georgia 141, is a route north-northeast of Atlanta which begins on the north side of I‑285 and runs parallel to I‑85 for about four miles until it terminates when it splits into GA‑141 and Peachtree Industrial (continuing as a normal divided highway). Georgia State Route 316 is a four-mile-long route that branches from I‑85 and stretches eastward into Gwinnett County. It continues east as a normal divided highway through the suburb of Lawrenceville and on to Athens. There are many historic roads across the area, named after historic mills of the Atlanta area, its mills and historic ferries of the Atlanta area, early ferries, and historic bridges of the Atlanta area, the bridges later built to replace the ferries. Pace's Ferry is perhaps the best known. Owing to the area's long history of settlement and uneven terrain, most arterial roads are not straight but meander instead, which can be confusing as much as the famed proliferation of Atlanta streets with "Peachtree" in the name. It is also often joked that half the streets are named Peachtree, while the other half have several names to make up for it. Partly, confusion is because the region maintains the historic nomenclature of each county naming its roads for the towns they connect with in surrounding counties. Thus, from Dallas to Roswell, Georgia State Route 120, Georgia 120 is Marietta Highway to the Paulding/Cobb county line, is Dallas Highway to the city of Marietta, Whitlock Avenue to the town square, South Park Square for just one city block, Roswell Street to Cobb Parkway (at the Big Chicken), Roswell Road to the Cobb/Fulton county line, and finally Marietta Street to the town square in Roswell. Further confusion is from the arbitrary location of state routes by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), so that they travel an erratic path requiring several turns by drivers instead of traveling the original straight route; and the renaming of roads by state legislators to honor their friends. There are many roads like this throughout the area, leading to duplication of names in different counties. In Fulton, "Roswell Road" refers to Georgia 9 through northern Atlanta and across Sandy Springs, in addition to the above-mentioned use in Cobb, for example. Numeric street addressing is done by county as well, with the origin usually being at one corner of the town square in the county seat. The U.S. Postal Service ignores these actual and logical boundaries however, overlapping ZIP codes and their associated place names across counties. The Cumberland/Galleria area has Cobb's numbers and an "SE" suffix, but is called "Atlanta" by the USPS (despite being Vinings, which the USPS ironically calls "unacceptable"), which can confuse visitors to think it is far away in southeast Atlanta. Where more than one town in the same county has a road to the same place, the smaller towns have their own name prefixed to it, while the county seat does not. The road need not go directly to the other place, but may connect through other roads. Examples include Due West Road west from Marietta, Kennesaw Due West Road southwest from Kennesaw, and Acworth Due West Road south from Acworth. Some are usually hyphenated, like Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, and Chamblee-Tucker Road. There are also several roads named for communities which have been overwhelmed by the urban and suburban sprawl, and so are somewhat odd to newcomers. These include Sandy Plains, Georgia, Sandy Plains, Crabapple, Georgia, Crabapple, Toonigh, Georgia, Toonigh, Luxomni, Georgia, Luxomni, and Due West, Georgia, Due West. Some of these communities are in the middle of the road, while some are at or very near one end. Some areas are renamed, either over time (Sandy Plains gradually became "Sprayberry" when Sprayberry High School moved there and similarly named shopping centers popped up around it); by the USPS (Toonigh is identified as "Lebanon"), or after rapid development. In such cases, the roads usually maintain their historic names even if the neighborhoods do not. There are also a few U.S. highways that cross the area, including U.S. Route 19 in Georgia, 19, U.S. Route 23 in Georgia, 23, U.S. Route 29 in Georgia, 29, U.S. Route 41 in Georgia, 41, and U.S. Route 78 in Georgia, 78. Other arterials are completely new, like much of Barrett Parkway, Sugarloaf Parkway and South Fulton Parkway, constructed by their counties but partly covered with a state route number. Occasionally, roads are realigned or extended to meet each other directly at a cross-road, leading to odd curves and name changes.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlanta Metropolitan Area Atlanta metropolitan area, Regions of Georgia (U.S. state) Metropolitan areas of Georgia (U.S. state)