Georgia’s Textbook Treasure Hunt

1. Georgia’s Textbook Treasure Hunt Geography SS8G1 The student will describe Georgia with regard to physical features and location. a.Locate Georgia in relation to region, nation, continent, and hemispheres. Essential Questions: • Where in the world is Georgia? • What is the purpose of knowing geography? • What is the relative location of Georgia in terms of hemisphere, continent, nation, region and global position?

2. Georgia State Facts I fell out of my bed this morning and realized it was the first day of school. “I don’t want to go back to school,” I cried. “Where did summer vacation go?” Reluctantly, I put two feet on the floor and stumbled out of bed. Right before I reached the bathroom, I fell over my new bookbag and hit the wall. “I knew I should have just stayed in bed,” I told myself as I sat on the floor holding my head. Just then I noticed a crack in the floor that I had never seen before. The crack got bigger as it reached the wall I had just hurled myself against, and I noticed I could pick up the board.

3. Georgia State Facts What lay underneath was a lot of dust and a box wrapped in cloth. Carefully, I unwrapped the box and found many cool things inside: an arrow head, a flower carefully pressed, a peach seed, a small rock that seemed to be made of gold, a pirate compass that looked really old, a twig of some kind of a tree, a belt buckle, a funny looking dead beetle bug, a butterfly net, and lastly, a map.

4. Life Long Prize Possession The map read, “If you found my box of treasures and want to know what they mean, follow the map. At the end you will find my life long prize possession that contains great worth and value”. Hmmm, I thought to myself, a treasure hunt across Georgia. Surely, my Social Studies teacher would understand the reason for skipping class for a few days.

5. Things to know before you start your quest…… I started out by reading the map. I noticed that some clues where more of an absolute direction and others where relative. If you have forgotten from last year, locations are exact grid line coordinates and location describes things around it to help you find a place on Earth. The first clue read: In order for you to know where you are going, you must first know what is surrounding you. Absolute The Earth can be divided into two halves called Lines that run east to west around the center of the globe are called or latitude lines of measurement. The line that goes around the globe exactly halfway between the two poles is called the All of Georgia’s latitude lines of measurement are of the Equator Hemispheres. Relative parallels Equator. North

6. Hmmmm…… Label Latitude and Longitude lines of Georgia Northwestern Hemisphere I said to myself this must mean that Georgia is located in the of the world. Well, I guess that is where my quest begins. Before I started my quest, I need to know the states and body of water surrounding Georgia. I looked at the map and noticed that the states of • Florida • South Carolina • North Carolina • Alabama • Tennessee • The Atlantic Ocean creates a natural border. The first clue read: In order for you to know where you are going, you must first know what is surrounding you. Lines that run north to south are called The starting point for these lines is the All of Georgia’s lines of measurement are located of the prime meridian Longitude. Prime Meridian West

7. Continue to use your Textbook and enclosed map to help you locate the treasure. Good Luck!

8. Geography is…. • Geography is the science of studying Earth as the home of humans. • Geography helps us understand • Ourselves • The places where we live • Our relationships with the natural environment • Our interdependence with other places and people in the United States and throughout the world

9. Quick fact Card…. • Land area: 58,910 square miles • Inland water: 854 square miles • Number of bordering states: 5 • Major bodies of water: 1 • Number of islands: 18 • Number of physiographic regions: 5 • Number of counties: 159 • Highest point: Brasstown Bald • Lowest point: Atlantic coastline

10. Live Oak I began my quest in the county of It is the geographic center of the state and is located 18 mile southeast of Macon and State Road 80 runs right through the heart of the county. I passed many large trees. I read in a travel brochure that Georgia is known for its lumber and paper mills due to all the good Georgia pine that could be found across the state. That surprised me because the is Georgia’s state tree not the pine tree. Twiggs Live Oak

11. Right Whale • From there, I went south to Georgia’s lowest point located along the . • It was here that I spotted State Marine Mammal the . Atlantic Ocean Right Whale

12. A Peachy Place to Live • I wanted to stay and watch but had to keep going. I passed fruit orchards where trees were heavy with fuzzy fruit called peaches . • I guess this is where Georgia got its nickname the “Peach State.”

13. Georgia’s Weather Phenomena • The sky began to get dark and I knew that I was in for a storm of a hunt considering the fact that Georgia experiences weather phenomena such as: • Tornados • Hurricanes • Nor’easters • Droughts Fact: Did you know that Georgia has 40 to 52 inches of rainfall in the central and southern parts and 65 to 76 inches in the northern mountains?

14. Okefenokee Swamp Waycross/Valdosta I went south to Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp located just south/east of the city of . This swamp encompasses over 400,000 acres of canals, moss draped cypress trees, and lily pad prairies providing sanctuaries for hundreds of species of birds and wildlife including several endangered species. The name of the famous swamp is derived from an Indian word meaning the . Trembling Earth (land of)

15. Okefenokee Swamp largest North America • The Okefenokee, the swamp in , is a freshwater wetland. • A is a low-lying land area where water lies close to the surface creating sloughs, swamps, bogs, ponds, and freshwater marshes. • A wetland can also be a lowland that is influenced by tidal water flows to create salt marshes. • Georgia ranks in the nation in the number of acres of wetlands found in the state. wetland fourth Fact: Did you know that Georgia has miles of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean? 100

16. Barrier Islands I had to get out of that swamp! Snakes, alligators, spiders, and gigantic bugs are simply not my thing. I needed some R & R so I headed northeast to Georgia’s islands located along the Ocean. I had to stop and get some sleep Barrier Atlantic

17. Peanut-Georgia’s Agricultural Product On my way, I crossed over Georgia’s farms and fields and learned that Georgia grows more than any other agricultural product. That is crazy because I always thought Georgia was the “peach state”. peanuts/blueberries Georgia Peanuts

18. In one of the trees nearby, I spotted a Brown Thrasher, Georgia’s state bird. Brown Thrasher

19. RAY CHARLES and WILLIE NELSON! I stopped in the town of which is one of Georgia’s oldest towns and first towns ever built. Along the coast, Georgia is known for its ,and the offer recreational facilities, seafood gathering and processing industries, and major shipyard ports. I sat on the ocean listening to Georgia’s famous theme song written by enjoyed the evening. Savannah deep harbors barrier islands “Georgia on My Mind,” Hoagy Carmichael & Stuart Gorrell

20. Pirate Hideaway • While listening to locals talk, I found out that it has been legend that Blackbeard once used Georgia’s islands as a pirate hideaway and hid many of his pirates treasures here in Georgia. • That had to be what the pirate compass was. Ok, now that I figured out that item, what was rock of gold?

21. Savannah The next day, I rode the River north. Did you know this river creates a natural boundary between Georgia and one of Georgia’s neighboring states. I traveled through the towns of and before I arrived at Georgia’s largest recreational lakes. South Carolina Athens Augusta

22. Largemouth Bass Sidney Lanier largemouth • This lake is known as Lake . I decided to go fishing and caught a ,Georgia’s state fish. bass

23. I continued to travel north. I had to figure out what these items meant, and the gold rock was really a mystery. I traveled north to a small town today known as . Apparently this is where a huge gold rush began. I found out that the land had been taken away from the Cherokee Indians. That must be what the arrowhead and gold rock represent. Dahlonega, Georgia

24. Cherokee Rose Cherokee Rose • I passed a small, fragile flower and instantly knew the with its gentle white petals and bright yellow center must be Georgia’s state flower. • When I leaned down to pick this flower as a keepsake, I was stung by a Georgia’s state insect. honey bee I guess this was what the butterfly net was meant to prevent. It should have had a caution sign on it to warn me!

25. Chattahoochee River • The Chattahoochee River is Georgia’s natural boundary and one of its rivers. • I landed in a little town called . I was very surprised that this town did not resemble any towns that I had seen. In fact, it reminded me of an Alpine Village. western largest Helen, Georgia

26. I wanted to go north to the Mountains. I heard that Georgia’s highest point known as and its observation deck was amazing. You could see for miles, even into other states. The locals also told me that you could hike the that begins at Mountain, which marks the southern end of the 2,015-mile Trail. Blue Ridge Brasstown Bald Appalachian Trail Springer

27. Traveling south, I soon learned that if I traveled toward Macon, Georgia I would have to cross a . Georgia’s fall line crosses the state, separating the coastal plain from the hilly or mountainous areas. fall line The Coastal Plain region is separated from the Piedmont Plateau by a natural boundary known as the Fall Line. The is the point at which lands meet the plain. This line runs from on the western side of the state, through and into on the eastern side. Other cities located on the Fall Line are Milledgeville, Roberta, Thomson, and Warrenton. Rivers and creeks flowing from the rocky hill country cut deep channels in the softer soil of the plains. This drops the elevation and creates . Fall Line hilly/mountainous coastal Columbus Augusta Macon waterfalls

28. Stone Mountain I was going south to the “foot of the mountain” where I wanted to hike which is Georgia’s largest granite-based landforms. Once I got there, I decided the should take me to the top of the mountain instead of hiking. When I got to the top, I could see , Georgia’s state capital and largest city. Stone Mountain gondola Fact…. Georgia is the __________ state ______ of the Mississippi River. It includes 58,910 square miles of land and 854 square miles of inland water. largest Atlanta east

29. Suddenly….. • I woke to the sound of my alarm. It was all a dream. I fell out of my bed and realized it was the first day of school. “I don’t want to go back to school,” I cried. “Where did summer vacation go?” • Reluctantly, I put two feet on the floor and stumbled out of bed. Well, let’s try this again. Perhaps Social Studies class will be as exciting as my treasure hunt across Georgia.