Southern Rivers Region

The Southern Rivers Region covers the southwestern third of Georgia, the agricultural plain and river-bottomland country running from Columbus on the Alabama line east through Albany and Tifton to Valdosta and the Florida border. The terrain is mostly flat — pine flatwoods, longleaf pine plantations, peanut and cotton fields — drained by the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Suwannee–Withlacoochee river systems. Elevations stay below 600 feet. Forty-three counties cover the region. Anchor cities include Columbus (the second-largest city in Georgia), Albany, Valdosta, Thomasville, Tifton, Americus (the gateway to Plains, Jimmy Carter’s hometown), LaGrange, and Moultrie. Lake Eufaula on the Chattahoochee and West Point Lake handle the major water recreation; Providence Canyon State Park (Georgia’s “Little Grand Canyon”) sits in Stewart County; Andersonville National Historic Site preserves the Civil War prison camp in Sumter; F.D. Roosevelt State Park and the Little White House sit at Warm Springs. Most trips here run history-and-small-town focused. Columbus handles the National Civil War Naval Museum and the Chattahoochee RiverWalk; Plains runs Jimmy Carter sites; Thomasville’s Victorian downtown and plantation country pull architecture and antique visitors; Andersonville carries the heaviest historical weight.