Atlanta Metro Region

The Atlanta Metro Region covers the broad metro core of Georgia at the southern foot of the Appalachian Piedmont, where a number of small streams converge to form the headwaters of the Chattahoochee. The terrain is rolling — Piedmont red clay, hardwood forest in the northern suburbs, gradually flattening as you move south toward the coastal plain — with the metro spreading across eight counties from Cobb in the northwest to Henry in the southeast. Fulton County holds Atlanta itself, plus Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, and College Park. Cobb holds Marietta, Smyrna, and Kennesaw; DeKalb holds Decatur and Stone Mountain; Gwinnett holds Lawrenceville and Duluth; Clayton, Fayette, Coweta, and Henry round out the southern crescent. Anchor attractions include the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, the Atlanta History Center, Stone Mountain Park, and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield. Most trips here center on a few neighborhoods. Downtown handles the Aquarium, Coke museum, and Centennial Olympic Park; Midtown carries the High Museum and Piedmont Park; the King District in Old Fourth Ward draws civil-rights visitors; Decatur, Virginia-Highland, and East Atlanta hold the food and music scene. Traffic is the regional constant.