North GA Mountains

A beautiful Fall day in the North Georgia Mountains. The north GA mountains are only a short drive from Atlanta. We made a loop coming from I-75 N to I-575 / Highway 5 to Highway 136 to Highway 183 north to Highway 52 west ending at Amicalola Falls State Park. Then came back through Dahlonega south the GA 400.

The Georgia Mountains Region or North Georgia mountains or Northeast Georgia is an area that starts in the northeast corner of Georgia, and spreads in a westerly direction. The mountains in this region are in the Blue Ridge mountain chain that ends in Georgia. At over 1 billion years of age, the Blue Ridge mountains are among the oldest mountains in the United States and sometimes mistaken to be the oldest mountains in the world (in fact they are only about one third of the age of South Africa’s 3.6 billion year old Barberton greenstone belt). The mountains in this region are also a part of the vast system of North America mountains known as theAppalachian Mountains that spans most of the United States longitudally along the eastern areas of the nation and terminates in Alabama.

The region is known for its ruggedness and scenic beauty. The Cherokee who lived in these mountains called them Sah-ka-na’-ga – “The Great Blue Hills of God.” Large portions of the North Georgia mountains are included in the more than 750,000 acres (3,000 km2) that comprises the Chattahoochee National Forest.