Georgia Counties: History and Information

Find a brief history of Georgia Counties

There are 159 Counties in Georgia. Under the Georgia State Constitution, all of its counties are granted home rule to deal with problems that are purely local in nature. Georgia has the second largest number of counties of any state in the United States, following Texas, which has 254 counties. Also, seven consolidated city-counties have been established in Georgia: Athens - Clarke County, Augusta - Richmond County, Columbus - Muscogee County, Georgetown - Quitman County, Statenville - Echols County, Macon- Bibb County, and Cusseta - Chattahoochee County.

Georgia is 300 miles long and 230 miles wide. Georgia's land area of 57,906 square miles makes it the largest state east of the Mississippi River (24th overall). The total area of the state's three largest counties-Ware, Burke, and Clinch (2,565 square miles)-is greater than the area of the entire state of Delaware (1,954 square miles).

Over 60% of the state's land area is forested. The forests tend to modulate the flow of water, filter it, and decrease erosion and sedimentation.

All of Georgia's rivers are formed either within the state or along its boundaries; no river flows into Georgia from another state. The Altamaha, Savannah, and Chattahoochee have the highest average flow rates. Among other major rivers are the Flint, Oconee, Ocmulgee, Coosa, Ogeechee, and Satilla. Recently, there has been a growing concern regarding Georgia's water resources due to drought conditions and population growth.