Georgia has five physiographical regions within its borders: Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Appalachian and the Ridge and Valley regions. Because most of the state is comprised of the Coastal Plain and Piedmont, very few valleys are on the map. Most valleys are located in the Ridge and Valley area.
Location
The 2,800-square-mile Ridge and Valley region is next to the Cumberland Plateau in northwestern Georgia. It occupies approximately 5 percent of the state's surface area, according to Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division. Valleys contained in the Ridge and Valley area include the Great Valley and the Chickamauga Valley. The Armuchee Ridges split these two valleys. The Great Valley ranges between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Elevation
The valleys of the Ridge and Valley region range from 600 to 800 feet in elevation. The ridges separating the valleys range from 1,000 to 1,600 feet tall. The rocks underneath the earth in this area are "symmetrically folded, producing long parallel valleys and ridges that are oriented in a northeast-southwest direction," according to the Georgia DNR.
Geology
The valleys of northwest Georgia are comprised of "Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that have been folded and faulted" to form the parallel valleys and ridges in existence today, according to the University of Georgia's Department of Geology. The faults in the region are thrust faults containing sheets of sandstone, shale and limestone piled on top of each other. The Ridge and Valley region contains construction-grade limestone, as well as barite and ochre. Coal was also once found and mined in the northwestern region.
Biology
The rivers running through the Ridge and Valley province are extremely diverse. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says Georgia's rivers are "the most diverse temperate freshwater ecosystems in the world." An example is the Etowah River, which at one point contained 91 species of fish but now has only 76 native species. The increase in human population in the area since the 1800s has placed strain on the watershed, harming native species. The area contains a lot of the same animals and plants as the Coastal Plain, for these species travel through the valleys to spread the range of their habitat. Important species in the northwestern part of Georgia are its many crawfish, including the Conasauga Blue Burrower, which only exists in the Ridge and Valley area.
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