The Peach State, the fourth-fastest growing state in America, boasts of 18 of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing counties. Along with the glorious peach trees that are the pride of all Georgians, the state is home to 250 species of trees including silky dogwood, Scotch broom, waxmyrtle, and Chickasaw plum. What many Georgians and non-Georgians alike may not know is that the live oak – not the peach tree – is Georgia’s official state tree. Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution lobbied the Georgia General Assembly to choose the live oak and on February 25, 1937 Resolution #14 passed by the Assembly made it so.
Home Depot, UPS, AFLAC, and Coca Cola are among the 15 Fortune 500 companies whose headquarters are in Georgia. The state’s GSP of $396 billion is derived from agricultural outputs including poultry and eggs, pecans, peanuts, cattle, and tobacco, and from a diverse array of industries including communications, transportation equipment, cigarette production, paper processing, and electric equipment manufacture.
Roads
Interstate 16: Also known as Georgia State Route 404, I-16 is contained entirely within Georgia and its 169 miles travel from Macon to Savannah.
Interstate 20: From Texas to South Carolina, I-20 stretches over 1,500 miles through America’s great southeast. Its Georgia miles pass through Atlanta and Augusta.
Interstate 59: An important regional route, I-59 travels a total of 442 miles from Slidell, Louisana to Lookout Mountain Georgia, but spends very little time in the Peach State.
Interstate 75: As anyone who has travelled from the Great Lakes to Florida knows, I-75 is the main link between the two. Its 355 Georgia miles include the cities of Atlanta, Dalton, Macon, Marietta and Valdosta.
Interstate 85: 180 of I-85’s 668 miles are contained within Georgia and pass through the cities of Auburn and Montgomery.
Interstate 95: From Miami to Maine, I-95 is a major north/south Interstate that spends only 113 of its miles in Georgia. They are important miles, however, as they include links with the thriving Georgia cities of Brunswick and Savannah.