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120-497: The park is owned by the state of Georgia . At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet (514 m) above sea level and 825 feet (251 m) above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain is well known for not only its geology , but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief artwork in the world. The carving, completed in 1972, depicts three Confederate leaders, Jefferson Davis , Robert E. Lee , and Stonewall Jackson . Stone Mountain, once owned by

240-546: A primary language , while 7.82% (795,646) spoke Spanish, and 6.55% (666,849) spoke languages other than English or Spanish at home, with the most common of which were Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean. In total, 14.38% (1,462,495) of Georgia's population age   5 and older spoke a mother language other than English. According to the Pew Research Center , the composition of religious affiliation in Georgia

360-728: A 16 ft (4.9 m) cross. James R. Venable attended the 1915 revival of the KKK on top of Stone Mountain and later became an Imperial Wizard of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which was one of the later KKK factions. He owned land at the base of the mountain that he had inherited from his ancestors, and in October 1923 he granted the Klan an easement with perpetual right to hold celebrations as they desired. However,

480-473: A AAA rating. If Georgia were a stand-alone country, it would be the 28th-largest economy in the world, based on data from 2005. Clam shrimp Clam shrimp are a group of bivalved branchiopod crustaceans that resemble the unrelated bivalved molluscs . They are extant and also known from the fossil record, from at least the Devonian period and perhaps before. They were originally classified in

600-725: A Dream " speech. The proposed monument is inspired by a bell-ringing ceremony held in 2013 honoring the 50th anniversary of King's speech. It is not supported by the NAACP or King-founded Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), who want the Confederate symbols removed rather than a King symbol added. Advance Local reported in 2015 that both the DeKalb County branch of the NAACP and the Sons of Confederate Veterans were opposed to

720-684: A Yankee"). She met him at the Atlanta train station, took him to her family's summer home, Mont Rest, at the foot of the mountain, and introduced him to Samuel Venable,. Borglum also enlisted Luigi Del Bianco , whom he would also involve in Mount Rushmore. Borglum's original plan was having five groups of figures, sixty-five mounted officers representing the states (to be chosen by the states), General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his cavalry—some 700 to 1,000 figures, each from 35 feet (11 m) to 50 feet (15 m) high. In addition, Borglum planned

840-531: A coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Georgia is also vulnerable to hurricanes , although direct hurricane strikes were rare during the 20th century. Georgia often is affected by hurricanes that strike the Florida Panhandle , weaken over land, and bring strong tropical storm winds and heavy rain to the interior, a recent example being Hurricane Michael , as well as hurricanes that come close to

960-649: A governor appointed by the king of Great Britain . The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence . The State of Georgia's first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24, 1778, and was

1080-569: A letter to the first sculptor, Gutzon Borglum : I feel it is due to the Klan[,] which saved us from Negro dominations [sic] and carpetbag rule, that it be immortalized on Stone Mountain. Why not represent a small group of them in their nightly uniform approaching in the distance? The UDC established the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association (SMCMA) for fundraising and on-site supervision of

1200-780: A national leader in the civil rights movement . King joined with others to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta in 1957 to provide political leadership for the Civil Rights Movement across the South. The civil rights riots of the 1956 Sugar Bowl would also take place in Atlanta after a clash between Georgia Tech 's president Blake R. Van Leer and Governor Marvin Griffin . On February 5, 1958, during

1320-780: A railroad spur to the quarry site in 1847. This line was rebuilt by the Georgia Railroad in 1869. Over the years, Stone Mountain granite was used in many buildings and structures, including the locks of the Panama Canal , the steps to the East Wing of the United States Capitol and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. In recent years, granite suppliers in Georgia sent stone samples cut from Stone Mountain to

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1440-462: A result of the upwelling of magma from within the Earth's crust . This magma solidified to form granite within the crust 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km) below the surface. The Stone Mountain pluton continues underground 9 miles (14 km) at its longest point into Gwinnett County . Numerous reference books and Georgia literature have dubbed Stone Mountain as "the largest exposed piece of granite in

1560-455: A room cut 60 feet (18 m) into the mountain, 320 feet (98 m) wide, and 40 feet (12 m) high, faced by 13 columns. Venable deeded the north face of the mountain to the UDC in 1916, on the condition that it complete a sizable Civil War monument in 12 years. Finances as well as technical problems slowed progress. The U.S. Mint issued a 1925 Commemorative silver U.S. half dollar , bearing

1680-463: A small airplane circled the mountain five times, crashed headlong into the south side, and burst into flames. The pilot was killed. A witness testifying at the NTSB investigation stated that the pilot, a 69-year-old accountant, had threatened on multiple occasions to commit suicide by flying into the mountain. The official NTSB accident report lists the probable cause as "The pilot's intentional flight into

1800-531: A state-wide office. Julian Bond , a noted civil rights leader, was elected to the state House in 1965, and served multiple terms there and in the state senate. Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. testified before Congress in support of the Civil Rights Act, and Governor Carl Sanders worked with the Kennedy administration to ensure the state's compliance. Ralph McGill , editor and syndicated columnist at

1920-470: A tough shell and can withstand drying out, freezing and other hostile conditions. In some species these eggs can hatch after as long as 7 years. When the egg arrives in a suitable pool, a larva hatches out at the nauplius stage (the nauplius stage is absent in Cyclestherida). Clam shrimp nauplii are distinguished by very small front antennae. At the second stage ( metanauplius ), the larva develops

2040-690: A training mission flown by a B-47 , a Mark 15 nuclear bomb , also known as the Tybee Bomb , was lost off the coast of Tybee Island near Savannah. The bomb was thought by the Department of Energy to lie buried in silt at the bottom of Wassaw Sound . By the 1960s, the proportion of African Americans in Georgia had declined to 28% of the state's population, after waves of migration to the North and some immigration by whites. With their voting power diminished, it took some years for African Americans to win

2160-404: A transportation hub, in 1991 UPS established its headquarters in the suburb of Sandy Springs . In 1992, construction finished on Bank of America Plaza , the tallest building in the U.S. outside of New York or Chicago. On February 19th, 2003, Georgia adopted its current state flag , resembling the state's first official flag. In 2024, it was announced that Atlanta would host multiple games during

2280-506: A variety of pines, oaks, hollies, cypress , sweetgum , scaly-bark and white hickories , and sabal palmetto . East Georgia is in the subtropical coniferous forest biome and conifer species as other broadleaf evergreen flora make up the majority of the southern and coastal regions. Yellow jasmine and mountain laurel make up just a few of the flowering shrubs in the state. White-tailed deer are found in nearly all counties of Georgia. The northern mockingbird and brown thrasher are among

2400-495: Is 112 °F (44 °C) in Louisville on July 24, 1952, while the lowest is −17 °F (−27 °C) in northern Floyd County on January 27, 1940. Georgia is one of the leading states in frequency of tornadoes , though they are rarely stronger than EF1 . Although tornadoes striking the city are very rare, an EF2 tornado hit downtown Atlanta on March 14, 2008, causing moderate to severe damage to various buildings. With

2520-609: Is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina to the north, South Carolina to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 United States , Georgia is the 24th-largest by area and eighth most populous . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , its 2023 estimated population

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2640-570: Is felt chiefly in the mountainous areas of the northern part of the state, which are farther away from the ocean and can be 4,500 feet (1,400 m) above sea level. The USDA plant hardiness zones for Georgia range from zone 6b (no colder than −5 °F (−21 °C)) in the Blue Ridge Mountains to zone 8b (no colder than 15 °F (−9 °C) ) along the Atlantic coast and Florida border. The highest temperature ever recorded

2760-420: Is long and biramous. Both branches are covered with numerous bristles. The crustaceans swim primarily by swooping the antennae. In the common genus Lynceus , which can open its spherical valves wide, the thoracic legs move in an oar-like manner along with the antennae. The number of segments constituting the thorax varies from 10 to 32, and the number of legs varies accordingly. They are similar in structure to

2880-465: Is mostly black in color, and the majority of it exists as optically continuous skeletal crystals, but much larger, euhedral pegmatitic tourmaline crystals can also be found in the mountain's numerous, cross-cutting felsic dikes . Embedded in the granite are xenoliths or pieces of foreign rocks entrained in the magma. The granite intruded into the metamorphic rocks of the Piedmont region during

3000-417: Is now named Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The busiest and most efficient airport in the world, it accommodates more than a hundred million passengers annually. Employing more than 60,000 people, the airport became a major engine for economic growth. With the advantages of cheap real estate, low taxes, right-to-work laws and a regulatory environment limiting government interference,

3120-549: The Atlanta Constitution , earned admiration by writing in support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1970, newly elected Governor Jimmy Carter declared in his inaugural address that the era of racial segregation had ended. In 1972, Georgians elected Andrew Young to Congress as the first African American Congressman since the Reconstruction era . In 1980, construction was completed on an expansion of what

3240-676: The Atlanta Constitution ." Three weeks later, Georgian John Temple Graves , editor of the New York American , suggested it should have a 70-foot (21 m) statue of Robert E. Lee . The project was greatly advanced by C. Helen Plane, a charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and first president and Honorary Life President of the Georgia State Division. After obtaining

3360-421: The 1980 census , 1,584,303 people from Georgia claimed English ancestry out of a total state population of 3,994,817, making them 40% of the state, and the largest ethnic group at the time. Today, many of these same people claiming they are of "American" ancestry are actually of English descent, and some are of Scots-Irish descent; however, their families have lived in the state for so long, in many cases since

3480-773: The 2020 United States census . This was an increase of 1,024,255, or 10.57% over the 2010 figure of 9,687,653 residents. As of 2010 , the number of illegal immigrants living in Georgia more than doubled to 480,000 from January 2000 to January 2009, according to a federal report. That gave Georgia the greatest percentage increase among the 10 states with the biggest undocumented immigrant populations during those years. Georgia has banned sanctuary cities . In 2018, The top countries of origin for Georgia's immigrants were Mexico , India , Jamaica , Korea , and Guatemala . There were 743,000 veterans in 2009. According to HUD 's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report , there were an estimated 10,689 homeless people in Georgia. In

3600-692: The 2026 FIFA World Cup , which further substantiated the economic investment and growth in the city and state. Beginning from the Atlantic Ocean, the state's eastern border with South Carolina runs up the Savannah River , northwest to its origin at the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers . It then continues up the Tugaloo (originally Tugalo) and into the Chattooga River , its most significant tributary . These bounds were decided in

3720-545: The American Civil War , were almost exclusively enslaved. The Great Migration of hundreds of thousands of blacks from the rural South to the industrial North from 1914 to 1970 reduced the African American population. Georgia had the second-fastest-growing Asian population growth in the U.S. from 1990 to 2000, more than doubling in size during the ten-year period. Indian people and Chinese people are

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3840-990: The Apalachicola , the Chatot , the Yuchi , the Chiaha, the Chickasaw , the Okmulgee, the Shawnee and the Timucua . Today there are no federally recognized tribes in Georgia, but there are three state-recognized tribes. Many inhabitants of Georgia identify as being Native American alone (32,151 people in 2010 census and 50,618 in 2020) or Native American in combination with one or more other races (51,873 people in 2010 census and 163,423 in 2020). Many Georgians also reported belonging to various Native American tribes in 2010 census,

3960-579: The Chattahoochee River near West Point . It continues downriver to the point where it joins the Flint River (the confluence of the two forming Florida's Apalachicola River ); the southern border goes almost due east and very slightly south, in a straight line to the St. Mary's River , which then forms the remainder of the boundary back to the ocean. The water boundaries are still set to be

4080-519: The Civil War , it was the last state to be readmitted to the Union on July 15, 1870. In the late 19th century, during the post- Reconstruction period, Georgia's economy underwent significant changes, driven by a coalition of influential politicians, business leaders, and journalists, notably Henry W. Grady , who promoted the " New South " ideology focused on reconciliation and industrialization . In

4200-563: The Confederacy (with secessionists having a slight majority of delegates) and became a major theater of the Civil War . Major battles took place at Chickamauga , Kennesaw Mountain , and Atlanta . In December 1864, a large swath of the state from Atlanta to Savannah was destroyed during General William Tecumseh Sherman 's March to the Sea . 18,253 Georgian soldiers died in service, roughly one of every five who served. In 1870, following

4320-615: The Eastern Continental Divide , has been Georgia's capital city since 1868. It is the most populous city in Georgia, with a 2020 U.S. census population of just over 498,000. The state has seventeen cities with populations over 50,000, based on official 2020 U.S. census data. Along with the rest of the Southeast, Georgia's population continues to grow rapidly, with primary gains concentrated in urban areas. The U.S. Census Bureau lists fourteen metropolitan areas in

4440-659: The Mississippi River . On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution . Between 1802 and 1804, a portion of western Georgia was carved out to create the Mississippi Territory , which eventually became the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi . Georgia declared its secession from the Union on January 19, 1861, joining the ranks of the original seven Confederate States . After

4560-479: The North Georgia mountains , receives moderate to heavy precipitation, which varies from 45 inches (1,100 mm) in central Georgia to approximately 75 inches (1,900 mm) around the northeast part of the state. The degree to which the weather of a certain region of Georgia is subtropical depends on the latitude, its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico , and the elevation. The latter factor

4680-538: The Reconstruction era , Georgia became the last Confederate state to be restored to the Union . With white Democrats having regained power in the state legislature, they passed a poll tax in 1877, which disenfranchised many poor black (and some white) people, preventing them from registering. In 1908, the state established a white primary ; with the only competitive contests within the Democratic Party, it

4800-766: The Southern Baptist Convention with 1,759,317; the United Methodist Church with 619,394; and the Roman Catholic Church with 596,384. Non-denominational Evangelical Protestant had 566,782 members, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) has 175,184 members, and the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. has 172,982 members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the largest Presbyterian body in

4920-692: The Tennessee River . Georgia consists of five principal physiographic regions : The Cumberland Plateau , Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , Blue Ridge Mountains , Piedmont , and the Atlantic coastal plain . Each region has its own distinctive characteristics. For instance, the region, which lies in the northwest corner of the state, includes limestone, sandstone, shale, and other sedimentary rocks, which have yielded construction-grade limestone, barite, ocher, and small amounts of coal. The state of Georgia has approximately 250 tree species and 58 protected plants. Georgia's native trees include red cedar ,

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5040-549: The Venable Brothers , was seen from the outset "as a memorial to the Confederacy." Stone Mountain Park officially opened on April 14, 1965 – 100 years to the day after Lincoln's assassination , although the park had already been in use for a few years. The mountain, which ranges in composition from quartz monzonite to granite and granodiorite , is more than 5 miles (8 km) in circumference at its base. The summit of

5160-657: The 100 fastest-growing in the United States. Georgia is defined by a diversity of landscapes, flora, and fauna. The northern part of the state features the Blue Ridge Mountains , which are part of the broader Appalachian Mountain range. Moving south, the Piedmont plateau stretches from the foothills of the Blue Ridge to the Fall Line , an escarpment that marks the transition to the Coastal Plain in

5280-571: The 160 bird species that live in the state. Reptiles include the eastern diamondback , copperhead , and cottonmouth snakes as well as alligators; amphibians include salamanders , frogs and toads . There are about 79 species of reptile and 63 amphibians known to live in Georgia. The Argentine black and white tegu is currently an invasive species in Georgia. It poses a problem to local wildlife by chasing down and killing many native species and dominating habitats. The most popular freshwater game fish are trout , bream , bass , and catfish , all but

5400-420: The 1797 Treaty of Beaufort , and tested in the U.S. Supreme Court in the two Georgia v. South Carolina cases in 1923 and 1989. The border then takes a sharp turn around the tip of Rabun County , at latitude 35°N , though from this point it diverges slightly south (due to inaccuracies in the original survey, conducted in 1818). This northern border was originally the Georgia and North Carolina border all

5520-562: The 18th century from rice-growing regions of West Africa led to the development of Gullah -Geechee language and culture in the Low Country among African Americans. They share a unique heritage in which many African traditions of food, religion and culture were retained. In the creolization of Southern culture, their foodways became an integral part of Low Country cooking. Sephardic Jews, French-speaking Swiss people, Moravians, Irish convicts, Piedmont Italians and Russian people immigrated to

5640-573: The 4th state to ratify the United States Constitution on January 2, 1788. After the Creek War (1813–1814) , General Andrew Jackson forced the Muscogee (Creek) tribes to surrender land to the state of Georgia, including in the Treaty of Fort Jackson (1814) , surrendering 21 million acres in what is now southern Georgia and central Alabama, and the Treaty of Indian Springs (1825) . In 1829, gold

5760-459: The Association disagreed and had a warrant issued for his arrest. He was warned of the arrest and narrowly escaped to North Carolina, whose governor, Angus McLean , refused to extradite him, though he could not return to Georgia. The affair was highly publicized and there was much discussion and discord, including discord between Sam Venable, the Association and Association president Hollins Randolph. The face of Lee that Borglum had partially completed

5880-474: The Atlanta NAACP proposed removing the Confederate carving from Stone Mountain Park. However, this would require the approval of the Georgia Legislature , as would any change to a "military monument" in the state. On October 11, 2015, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the park was considering a proposal of a permanent "Freedom Bell" honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and the line "Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia", from King's 1963 " I Have

6000-426: The Atlanta metropolitan area became a national center of finance, insurance, technology, manufacturing, real estate, logistics, and transportation companies, as well as the film, convention, and trade show businesses. As a testament to the city's growing international profile, in 1990 the International Olympic Committee selected Atlanta as the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics . Taking advantage of Atlanta's status as

6120-492: The Georgia coastline, brushing the coast on their way north without ever making landfall. Hurricane Matthew of 2016 and Hurricane Dorian of 2019 did just that. Due to anthropogenic climate change , the climate of Georgia is warming. This is already causing major disruption, for example, from sea level rise (Georgia is more vulnerable to it than many other states because its land is sinking) and further warming will increase it. Atlanta , located in north-central Georgia at

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6240-465: The Supreme Court's ruling in Worcester v. Georgia (1832) that U.S. states were not permitted to redraw Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren , dispatched federal troops to gather the tribes and deport them west of the Mississippi . This forced relocation, known as the Trail of Tears , led to the death of more than four thousand Cherokees. In early 1861, Georgia joined

6360-437: The United States, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta , located in the suburb city of Lilburn . Georgia is home to large Sikh religion population with 4 gurudwaras (Sikh religious worship places). Georgia is home to several historic synagogues including The Temple (Atlanta) , Congregation Beth Jacob (Atlanta) , and Congregation Mickve Israel (Savannah) . Chabad and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute are also active in

6480-415: The annual gross revenues from the park's hotels and 3% of gross revenues from other areas. From 1999 to 2022, park attractions were managed by Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation , which had a 30-year contract to operate attractions. Under terms of a 1999 agreement, Herschend paid the state of Georgia $ 11 million (~$ 18.9 million in 2023) annually, while the Stone Mountain Memorial Association had

6600-490: The approval of the Georgia UDC, she set up the UDC Stone Mountain Memorial Association in 1914, when she was 85 years old. She convinced Samuel Venable of the Venable Brothers Granite Company, an active Klan member and owner of the mountain, to deed one side of the mountain for the project. She chose the sculptor Gutzon Borglum for the project and invited him to visit the mountain (although, despite his Ku Klux Klan involvement, she "would not shake his hand—he was, after all,

6720-437: The area. A small theater shows a historical documentary about the Civil War in Georgia called The Battle for Georgia . The education department is host to thousands of students each school year, teaching the subjects of geology, ecology, and history. Classes are designed to meet the Georgia Performance Standards and the North American Association for Environmental Education guidelines. Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia

6840-409: The back of the coin was based on The Last Meeting of Lee and Jackson , executed in 1869 by Everett B. D. Fabrino Julio, itself an icon of Lost Cause mythology; it is now in the American Civil War Museum (until 2012 the Museum of the Confederacy). When the state completed the purchase in 1960, it condemned the property to void Venable's agreement to allow the Klan perpetual right to hold meetings on

6960-550: The base of the leg. The legs are in constant movement, and the water between the valves of the carapace is quickly renewed. The body ends in a large chitinised telson , which is either laterally compressed and bears a pair of large hooks, or dorsoventrally compressed, with short hooks. Clam shrimp have different reproductive strategies. For example, within the family Limnadiidae are found dioecious (male-female), hermaphroditic (only hermaphrodites), and androdioecious (male-hermaphrodite) species. The eggs are surrounded by

7080-426: The bell because it would have been put next to a Confederate monument. Representatives of the NAACP were quoted in the article saying "It's an attempt to gain support from blacks to keep these racist and demeaning symbols." In August 2017, after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia —a white nationalist protest against the removal of the Robert E. Lee monument and Stonewall Jackson sculpture in

7200-426: The bulk of the materials dating from 1915 to 1930; the finding aid provides a history of the project, and an index of the papers contained in the collection. Four flags of the Confederacy are flown at the site. The Stone Mountain Memorial Lawn "contains...thirteen terraces—one for each Confederate state.... Each terrace flies the flag that the state flew as member of the Confederacy." In 1963, there opened beneath

7320-415: The carving's removal. Known as the Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC), it was a protest against both overt and systemic racism, calling out white supremacists, with the location being chosen in part due to its history as the place where the Ku Klux Klan was re-formed. On August 15, 2020, the park administration temporarily closed its gates in reaction to a gathering of white nationalists planned there, and

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7440-428: The city's public buses were suspended for the day. Nevertheless, a fight broke out downtown between groups of white supremacists, Black Lives Matter counter-protestors, and people who wish to keep Confederate monuments in place, though no injuries were reported. Human habitation of Stone Mountain and its surroundings date back into prehistory . When the mountain was first encountered by European explorers, its summit

7560-441: The city—turned violent, many people across the country again demanded the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials as part of a national political debate. Georgia State Representative and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams called for the removal, by sandblasting , of Stone Mountain's carving. She called it "a blight upon our state". On July 5, 2020, 100 to 200 armed protesters came to Stone Mountain to call for

7680-423: The colonial period, that they choose to identify simply as having "American" ancestry or do not in fact know their own ancestry. Their ancestry primarily goes back to the original thirteen colonies and for this reason many of them today simply claim "American" ancestry, though they are of predominantly English ancestry. Historically, about half of Georgia's population was composed of African Americans who, before

7800-399: The colony's settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan , which envisioned an agrarian society of yeoman farmers and prohibited slavery. The colony was invaded by the Spanish in 1742, during the War of Jenkins' Ear . In 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown . Georgia became a crown colony , with

7920-436: The early 19th century, the area was known as Rock Mountain. After the founding of DeKalb County and the county seat of Decatur in 1822, Stone Mountain was a natural recreation area; it was common for young couples on dates to ride to the mountain on horseback. The mountain is easy to climb and there has been a path since the nineteenth century. Entrepreneur Aaron Cloud built a 165 foot (50 m) wooden observation tower at

8040-424: The event. Seventy troopers attempted to stop several hundred Klansmen gathered at the base of the mountain from climbing to the summit, but the Klansmen were armed with billy clubs , flashlights, and stones, and greatly outnumbered the officers. The police negotiated a truce with the local Klan Grand Dragon , under which the Klansmen would refrain from further violence, but 20 of their number would be allowed to climb

8160-412: The former order Conchostraca , which later proved to be paraphyletic , because water fleas are nested within clam shrimps. Clam shrimp are now divided into three orders, Cyclestherida , Laevicaudata , and Spinicaudata , in addition to the fossil family Leaiidae. Both valves of the shell are held together by a strong closing muscle . The animals react to danger by contracting the muscle, so that

8280-509: The ground for the purpose of suicide while impaired by alcohol." Stone Mountain Park, which surrounds the Confederate Memorial, is owned by the state of Georgia and managed by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, a Georgia state authority. As of August, 2022, the board entered a 10-year contract (with the option to renew for up to 30 years) with Thrive Attractions Management Group, LLC, to operate park attractions. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association retains ownership, while Thrive keeps 2% of

8400-467: The ground. David Freeman, writing on the origins of the memorial, states: "Who first conceived of a Confederate memorial on the side of Stone Mountain has long been a matter of debate..... The written evidence...points to Francis Ticknor, a nineteenth-century physician and poet from Jones County, Georgia ...in an 1869 poem.... William H. Terrell, an Atlanta attorney and son of a Confederate veteran, ...suggested it publicly on May 26, 1914 in an editorial for

8520-438: The group responsible for planning the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.; the foundation later chose to use granite imported from China. Quarrying during earlier periods also destroyed several spectacular geological features on Stone Mountain, such as the Devil's Crossroads, which was located on top of the mountain. In 1887, Stone Mountain was purchased for $ 45,000 by the Venable Brothers of Atlanta, who quarried

8640-479: The history of the world ... I don't think people understand the objective and the intent. They don't understand that it's based on white supremacy because the [American Civil War] was based on white supremacy, and the 'heroes' are based on white supremacy. After the killings at Emanuel Church in Charleston, it finally crystallized for me that these monuments encourage violence and validate oppression. In July 2015,

8760-400: The largest Asian groups in Georgia. In addition, according to census estimates, Georgia ranks third among the states in terms of the percent of the total population that is African American (after Mississippi and Louisiana ) and third in numeric Black population after New York and Florida. Georgia also has a sizeable Latino population. Many are of Mexican descent. Georgia is the state with

8880-691: The largest of which was the Cherokee (21,525 people). Other tribes reported in Georgia in 2010 included for example the Muscogee (2,370 people), the Choctaw (1,419), the Sioux (1,027), the Seminole (664) and more. Georgia's 2018 total gross state product was $ 602 billion. For years Georgia as a state has had the highest credit rating by Standard & Poor's (AAA) and is one of only 15 states with

9000-441: The last of which are produced in state hatcheries for restocking. Popular saltwater game fish include red drum , spotted seatrout , flounder , and tarpon . Porpoises , whales, shrimp , oysters , and blue crabs are found inshore and offshore of the Georgia coast. The majority of the state is primarily a humid subtropical climate . Hot and humid summers are typical, except at the highest elevations. The entire state, including

9120-598: The last stages of the Alleghenian Orogeny , which was the time when North America and North Africa collided. Over time, erosion eventually exposed the present mountain of more resistant igneous rock. This intrusion of granite also gave rise to Panola Mountain and Arabia Mountain, both in DeKalb County , smaller outcroppings farther south of Stone Mountain. The top of the mountain is a landscape of bare rock and rock pools , and it provides views of

9240-454: The legs of tadpole shrimp , and similarly, their size decreases from front to back. In females, the outer lobes of several middle legs are modified into long, upward-bending threadlike outgrowths, used to hold the eggs on the dorsal side of the body under the shell. However, the main functions of the thoracic legs are respiration and carrying food forward to the mouth. The gills are basically the outer lobes of all thoracic legs that are closest to

9360-522: The mid-20th century, several notable figures from Georgia, including Martin Luther King Jr. , emerged as key leaders in the civil rights movement . Atlanta was chosen to host the 1996 Summer Olympics , celebrating the centennial of the modern Olympic Games . Since 1945, Georgia has experienced significant population and economic expansion, aligning with the larger Sun Belt trend. Between 2007 and 2008, 14 of Georgia's counties were listed among

9480-617: The mountain can be reached by a walk-up trail on the west side of the mountain or by the Skyride aerial tram . Stone Mountain is a pluton , a type of igneous intrusion . Primarily composed of quartz monzonite , the dome of Stone Mountain was formed during the formation of the Blue Ridge Mountains around 300–350 million years ago (during the Carboniferous period), part of the Appalachian Mountains . It formed as

9600-738: The mountain for 24 more years, and descendants of the Venable family would retain ownership of the mountain until it was purchased by the State of Georgia in 1958. Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned the monument in his " I Have a Dream " speech at the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , when he said "let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!" During the 1996 Summer Olympics , Stone Mountain Park provided venues for Olympic events in tennis, archery and track cycling . The venues for archery and cycling were temporary and are now part of

9720-399: The mountain for a “religious ceremony”, and the cross-burning was substituted with the lighting of a flare. In August 2017, the Klan was denied a permit for a mountaintop cross-burning. Fundraising for the monument resumed in 1923. The influence of the UDC continued, in support of Mrs. Plane's vision of a carving explicitly for the purpose of creating a Confederate memorial. She suggested in

9840-680: The mountain. The largest bas-relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War: President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (on their favorite horses, Blackjack, Traveller , and Little Sorrel, respectively). The sculpture was cut 42 feet (13 m) deep into the mountain, measures 90 feet (27 m) in height and 190 feet (58 m) in width, and lies 400 feet (120 m) above

9960-548: The original thalweg of the rivers. Since then, several have been inundated by lakes created by dams, including the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint point now under Lake Seminole . An 1818 survey erroneously placed Georgia's border with Tennessee one mile (1.6 km) south of the intended location of the 35th parallel north. State legislators still dispute this placement , as correction of this inaccuracy would allow Georgia access to water from

10080-541: The premises. After the Charleston church shooting in mid-2015, Stone Mountain was the subject of a political debate related to the removal of symbols of the Confederacy . This controversy was stimulated by a movement in other states to remove the Confederate battle flag and statues of Confederate leaders from public areas. [The Confederate sculpture at Stone Mountain is] the largest shrine to white supremacy in

10200-641: The previous Vice President of Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation and general manager of Stone Mountain Park for 10 years, Michael Dombrowski, submitted the only bid to the Mountain Memorial Association, which was approved on May 23, 2022. Confederate Hall, operated directly by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA), is a museum that educates students and park guests on the geology and ecology of Stone Mountain as well as historical aspects of

10320-477: The project was delayed once again by the United States' entry into World War II (1941–45). In response to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement , in 1958, at the urging of segregationist Governor Marvin Griffin , the Georgia legislature approved a measure to purchase Stone Mountain at a price of $ 1,125,000. In 1963, Walker Hancock

10440-489: The project. Venable and Borglum, both closely associated with the Klan, arranged to pack the SMCMA with Klan members. The SMCMA, along with the United Daughters of the Confederacy , continued fundraising efforts. Of the $ 250,000 (~$ 3.46 million in 2023) raised, part came from the federal government, which in 1925 issued commemorative fifty-cent coins with the soldiers Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on them. The image on

10560-714: The property was condemned in 1960 at the behest of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. The Klan also held cross-burnings at the summit of the mountain on different occasions from 1915 onward. This practice came to an end in 1962, when the Klan attempted to hold a mountaintop cross-burning in response to the NAACP holding its national convention in Atlanta . The Stone Mountain Memorial Association did not want either group using state property for demonstrations, and convinced Governor Ernest Vandiver to order state troopers to stop

10680-467: The rainy season. Through the process of cryptobiosis , the tiny shrimp eggs (or cysts ) can remain dormant for years in the dried out depressions, awaiting favorable conditions. These vernal pools are also home to several federally listed rare and endangered plant species, such as black-spored quillwort ( Isoetes melanospora ) and pool sprite (also called snorkelwort, Gratiola amphiantha ). The mountain's lower slopes are wooded. The rare Georgia oak

10800-453: The right to reject any project deemed unfit. In 2018, Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation decided to end their contract early after only 20 years due to record losses in 2017 and 2018, citing decreased revenues and “protests and division” fueled by the park’s ubiquitous Confederate imagery as factors. Bids for a new management company for Stone Mountain Park were submitted in October 2021. Thrive Attractions Management Group, LLC, started by

10920-399: The same year, Thanksgiving Day , a small group, including fifteen robed and hooded "charter members" of the new organization, met at the summit of Stone Mountain to create a new iteration of the Klan. Led by William J. Simmons , it included two elderly members of the original Klan. As part of their ceremony, they set up on the summit an altar covered with a flag, opened a Bible , and burned

11040-458: The sculpture a replica plantation, where slave quarters were described as "neat" and "well furnished" in promotional materials. The slaves were called "hands" or "workers," and black actress Butterfly McQueen (from Gone with the Wind ) was hired to guide and inform visitors. The park states that the plantation was inspired by Gone with the Wind . The plantation has been renamed Historic Square and

11160-503: The second-highest total of these extralegal executions of any state in the South. The overwhelming number of victims were black and male. Political disfranchisement persisted through the mid-1960s, until after Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . An Atlanta-born Baptist minister who was part of the educated middle class that had developed in Atlanta's African-American community, Martin Luther King Jr. , emerged as

11280-574: The slave cabins removed. According to sociologist James W. Loewen , Stone Mountain was " the sacred site to members of the second and third national klans ." Loewen alleges that the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan —the second Klan—was inspired by D. W. Griffith 's 1915 Klan-glorifying film, The Birth of a Nation . It was followed in August by the highly publicized lynching of Leo Frank , who had been convicted of murder, in nearby Marietta, Georgia . Loewen further alleges that on November 25 of

11400-554: The small shell. They develop very quickly. For instance, Cyzicus reaches sexual maturity in 19 days after hatching. Extant clam shrimp belong to three orders, divided into five families; some notable genera and prehistoric taxa are also listed: Spinicaudata Linder, 1945 Cyclestherida Sars, 1899 Laevicaudata Linder, 1945 Modern clam shrimp have little significance to humans. However, extinct species of these crustaceans are often studied by geologists . In freshwater deposits, generally poor in fossils,

11520-487: The songbird and habitat trail. Some of the outdoor scenes for the Netflix series Stranger Things were filmed in the park. According to George Weiblen's annotated calendar for Monday, May 7, 1928: "Mail plane crashed on mountain at 8:00 P.M." The pilot, Johnny S. Kytle (1905–1931), not only survived the crash, but managed to grab the mail and walk down the mountain. Around dusk on September 16, 2003, in clear weather,

11640-548: The southern region of the state. The highest elevation in the state is Brasstown Bald , reaching 4,784 feet (1,458 m) above sea level, while the lowest point is at the Atlantic Ocean . Except for some elevated areas in the Blue Ridge, Georgia predominantly experiences a humid subtropical climate . Among the states located entirely east of the Mississippi River, Georgia ranks as the largest in terms of land area . Before settlement by European colonists , Georgia

11760-489: The state during the colonial era. As of 2011 , 58.8% of Georgia's population younger than 1 were minorities (meaning they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white) compared to other states like California with 75.1%, Texas with 69.8%, and New York with 55.6%. The largest European ancestry groups as of 2011 were: English 8.1%, Irish 8.1%, and German 7.2%. As of 2021 , 85.62% (8,711,102) of Georgia residents age   5 and older spoke English at home as

11880-595: The state, with 300 congregations and 100,000 members. The other large body, Presbyterian Church in America , had at its founding date 14 congregations and 2,800 members; in 2010 it counted 139 congregations and 32,000 members. The Roman Catholic Church is noteworthy in Georgia's urban areas, and includes the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah . Georgia is home to the second-largest Hindu temple in

12000-423: The state. By the 2022 Public Religion Research Institute 's study, 71% of the population were Christian; throughout its Christian population, 60% were Protestant and 8% were Catholic. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons collectively made up 3% of other Christians according to the study. Judaism , Islam , Buddhism , and Hinduism collectively formed 4% of the state's non-Christian population; New Age spirituality

12120-561: The state. The population of the Atlanta metropolitan area added 1.23 million people (24%) between 2000 and 2010, and Atlanta rose in rank from the eleventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States to the ninth-largest . The Atlanta metropolitan area is the cultural and economic center of the Southeast ; its official population in 2020 was over 6 million, or 57% of Georgia's total population. The United States Census Bureau reported Georgia's official population to be 10,711,908 as of

12240-415: The summit of the mountain in 1838, but it was destroyed by a storm and replaced by a much smaller tower in 1851. Visitors to the mountain would travel to the area by rail and road, and then walk up the 1.1-mile (1.8 km) mountaintop trail to the top, where Cloud also had a restaurant and club. Granite quarrying started at Stone Mountain in the 1830s, but became a major industry following the completion of

12360-452: The surrounding area including the skyline of downtown Atlanta , often Kennesaw Mountain , and on very clear days even the Appalachian Mountains . On some days, the top of the mountain is shrouded in a heavy fog, and visibility may be limited to only a few feet. The clear freshwater pools on the summit form by rainwater gathering in eroded depressions, and are home to unusual clam shrimp and fairy shrimp . The tiny shrimp appear only during

12480-462: The third-lowest percentage of older people (65 or older), at 12.8 percent (as of 2015 ). The colonial settlement of large numbers of Scottish American , English American and Scotch-Irish Americans in the mountains and Piedmont, and coastal settlement by some English Americans and African Americans, have strongly influenced the state's culture in food, language and music. The concentration of African slaves repeatedly "imported" to coastal areas in

12600-428: The valves close tightly and the crustacean, as if dead, lies motionlessly at the bottom of the pool. In most species the head is dorsoventrally compressed. The sessile compound eyes are close together and located on the forehead; in the genus Cyclestheria they are truly fused. In front of them is a simple naupliar eye. The first pair of antennae is reduced and unsegmented. The second pair of antennae, however,

12720-470: The way to the Mississippi River , until Tennessee was divided from North Carolina , and the Yazoo companies induced the legislature of Georgia to pass an act, approved by the governor in 1795, to sell the greater part of Georgia's territory presently comprising Alabama and Mississippi . The state's western border runs in a straight line south-southeastward from a point southwest of Chattanooga , to meet

12840-518: The words "Stone Mountain", as a fundraiser for the monument. This issue, which required the approval of both the 1926 Congress and President Calvin Coolidge , was the largest issue of commemorative coins by the U.S. government up to that time. Financial conflicts between Borglum and the Association led to his firing in 1925. Borglum destroyed his models, claiming that they were his property, but

12960-441: The world". This misconception is most likely a result of misrepresentation by granite companies and early park administration. Stone Mountain, though often called a pink granite dome, actually ranges in composition from quartz monzonite to granite and granodiorite . The minerals within the rock include quartz , plagioclase feldspar , microcline , and muscovite , with smaller amounts of biotite and tourmaline . The tourmaline

13080-439: Was 11,029,227. Atlanta , a global city , is both the state's capital and its largest city. The Atlanta metropolitan area , with a population of more than 6.3 million people in 2023, is the sixth most populous metropolitan area in the United States and contains about 57% of Georgia's entire population. Other major metropolitan areas in the state include Augusta , Savannah , Columbus , and Macon . The Province of Georgia

13200-764: Was 2% of the religious population. Approximately 23% of the state was irreligious . Population percentage of Georgia in the United States 2010: 3.14% 2020: 3.23% Tribes which historically lived in what is now Georgia include the Muscogee (including the Hitchiti subgroup), the Cherokee , the Oconi , the Guale , the Yamasee and the Apalachee . Other tribes which at various times lived in or migrated through Georgia include

13320-533: Was 70% Protestant, 9% Catholic, 1% Mormon, 1% Jewish, 0.5% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, and 0.5% Hindu. Atheists , deists , agnostics, and other unaffiliated people make up 13% of the population. Overall, Christianity was the dominant religion in the state, as part of the Bible Belt . According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2010, the largest Christian denominations by number of adherents were

13440-561: Was another way to exclude black people from politics. They constituted 46.7% of the state's population in 1900, but the proportion of Georgia's population that was African American dropped thereafter to 28%, primarily due to tens of thousands leaving the state during the Great Migration . According to the Equal Justice Initiative 's 2015 report on lynching in the United States (1877–1950), Georgia had 531 deaths,

13560-411: Was blasted off the mountain in 1928. After a number of sculptors turned them down, Augustus Lukeman took up the work in 1925, with a different, smaller design. Fundraising was even more difficult after the public debate and name-calling, and work stopped in 1928. In 1941, segregationist Governor Eugene Talmadge formed the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) to continue work on the memorial, but

13680-763: Was discovered in the North Georgia mountains leading to the Georgia Gold Rush and establishment of a federal mint in Dahlonega , which continued in operation until 1861. The resulting influx of American settlers put pressure on the federal U.S. government to take land from the Cherokee Nation . In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act , sending many eastern Indian nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgia's tribes. Despite

13800-442: Was encircled by a rock wall, similar to that still to be found on Georgia's Fort Mountain . The wall is believed to have been built by early Native American inhabitants of the area, although its purpose remains unclear. By the beginning of the 20th century, the wall had disappeared, the rocks having been taken away by early visitors as souvenirs, rolled down the rockface, or removed by the commercial quarrying operation. The mountain

13920-468: Was established in 1732, with its first settlement occurring in 1733 when Savannah was founded. By 1752, Georgia had transitioned into a British royal colony , making it the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies . Named in honor of King George II of Great Britain , the Georgia Colony extended from South Carolina down to Spanish Florida and westward to French Louisiana along

14040-540: Was first discovered at the summit, and several specimens can easily be found along the walk-up trail and in the woods around the base of the mountain. In the fall , the Confederate yellow daisy ( Helianthus porteri ) flowers appear on the mountain, growing in rock crevices and in the large wooded areas. More than 120 wildflowers, most of them native to the Southern Appalachians and including several rare or federally protected species, have been identified on

14160-581: Was inhabited by the mound building cultures. The Province of Georgia was founded by British General James Oglethorpe at Savannah on February 12, 1733, a year after its creation as a new British colony. It was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by (and named for) King George II . The Trustees implemented an elaborate plan for

14280-485: Was selected to complete the carving, and work began in 1964. The carving was dedicated in a ceremony on May 9, 1970. The carving was completed by Roy Faulkner on March 3, 1972. Faulkner in 1985 opened the Stone Mountain Carving Museum (now closed) on nearby Memorial Drive commemorating the carving's history. An extensive archival collection related to the project is now at Emory University , with

14400-595: Was the eastern end of the Campbellton Trail, a Native American path that ran through what is now the Atlanta area. Europeans first learned of the mountain in 1567, when Spanish explorers were told of a mountain farther inland which was "very high, shining when the sun set like a fire." By this time, the Stone Mountain area was inhabited by the Creek and (to a lesser extent) Cherokee peoples. In

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