Metro Atlanta

===Environment===
The area's prolific rains are drained by many different [[stream]]s and creeks. The main [[drainage basin|basin]] is that of the [[Chattahoochee River]], running northeast to southwest. The further northwestern suburbs drain into the [[Etowah River]] via the [[Little River (northern Georgia)|Little River]] and [[Lake Allatoona]]. The southern suburbs are drained by the [[Flint River (Georgia)|Flint River]], and the east-southeastern ones by the [[Oconee River]] and [[Yellow River (Georgia)|Yellow River]].

By 2005 the metro area was using {{convert|360|e6USgal|m3}} of water per day (about {{convert|80|USgal|L}} per person per day) from these rivers. This usage was reduced by more than 10% during the drought, but soared back up after watering restrictions were eased (and before the flooding ensued). The need for water is seen as a barrier to further growth in the area, but permanent measures for non-emergency [[water conservation]] have never been put in place.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}} The state legislature has refused to pass a requirement for [[low-flow toilet]]s to be installed in homes that are sold, bowing to [[lobbying|pressure]] from the [[real estate]] [[home selling|sales]] industry.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}

Disputes over water are becoming increasingly common, with both [[Alabama]] and [[Florida]] filing [[lawsuit]]s and threatening [[injunction]]s to prevent Georgia from taking too much water, mostly for metro Atlanta.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}} [[South Carolina]] also threatened when a [[pipeline transport|pipeline]] east to the [[Savannah River]] was mentioned even informally.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}} The state has now been ordered by a judge to reduce withdrawals from the Chattahoochee south of Lanier to 1970s levels within three years (2012), something that would create an immediate emergency water shortage if it were actually enforced.{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}

====Flora====
The native [[forest]] [[canopy (forest)|canopy]] is mainly [[oak]], redbud, [[hickory]], [[Populus|poplar]], [[tuliptree]], [[pine]], and [[Liquidambar styraciflua|sweetgum]], with [[American chestnut|chestnut]] having been common decades before in what is now considered [[oak-hickory forest]]. [[Saw palmetto]], [[Sabal palmetto]] and [[Trachycarpus fortunei]] have become common ornamentals as well. Traveling from the south, the metro area is generally the first area in which [[autumn leaf color]] can be seen, due to the different trees growing at the higher elevation and [[latitude]]. [[Understory|Underneath]], the [[flowering dogwood]] is very common, the [[black cherry]] are quite prolific, with [[mulberry]] popping up sometimes as well. [[Sourwood]] is also in its native range, and is easily identified by the fact that it turns fiery red in early October, much brighter and weeks earlier than most other trees (which usually peak in early November).

Shrubby plants include [[blackberry]], [[horsechestnut]], [[sumac]], and sometimes [[Crataegus|hawthorn]]. [[Parthenocissus quinquefolia|Virginia creeper]], [[poison-ivy (plant)|poison ivy]], and [[Smilax|briar]] are common [[vine]]s. The [[Helianthus porteri|Confederate yellow daisy]] is a [[wildflower]] native only to the area around Stone Mountain.

Common garden plants include dogwood, [[azalea]], [[hydrangea]], [[flowering cherry]], [[maple]]s, [[pin oak]], [[red-tip photinia]], [[holly]], [[juniper]], [[Eastern white pine|white pine]], [[magnolia]], [[Bradford pear]], [[forsythia]], [[liriope (plant)|liriope]] ([[mondograss]]), and [[English ivy]]. [[Lawn]]s can be either cool-season [[grass]]es like [[fescue]] and [[rye]], or warm-season like [[zoysia]] and [[bermudagrass]] which turn brown in late fall. A few [[homeowners association]]s actually prohibit green grass in the winter.

Native to the nearby mountains, maples are now one of the most common landscape trees for new homes and parking lots, giving their color in the fall instead of spring. When planted close to buildings (which provide shelter and radiate heat), they can retain some of their color into December, especially if November has been warm.

Common [[lawn]] weeds are [[Potentilla indica|mock strawberry]], [[violet (plant)|violet]], [[Allium|wild onion]], and of course the ubiquitous [[dandelion]], [[crabgrass]], and [[Plantago|plantain]].

By far the most notorious [[introduced species]] is [[kudzu]], a highly [[invasive species]] from [[Japan]] which climbs and smothers trees and shrubs. New effective herbicides as well as increased development of formerly rural areas has greatly reduced kudzu in the metro area (although still quite common elsewhere in Georgia). Wisteria planted decades ago by farmers in then-rural areas has become wild and is common in undeveloped forests. Some vines exceed 50 years of age and cover dozens of acres of forest, creating a dense, purple explosion each spring.

[[Japanese honeysuckle]] is extremely common, its fragrance an early summer delight. A common ornamental shrub, the [[Chinese privet]], has escaped to become the state's most invasive non-native plant species.

====Fauna====
Among [[mammal]]s, the [[eastern gray squirrel]] is by far the most ubiquitous, stealing [[birdseed]] from the [[bird feeder]]s which many locals maintain. [[Chipmunk]]s and small brown [[rabbit]]s are common, but it is relatively rare to hear of them doing any damage. [[Opossum]], [[raccoon]]s, [[fox]]es, [[coyote]]s and [[armadillo]]s are frequently seen. Garden and meadow snakes are common; six venomous [[pit viper]] snakes ([[Eastern diamondback rattlesnake]], [[timber rattlesnake]], [[pygmy rattlesnake]], [[coral snake]], [[Agkistrodon piscivorus|water moccasin]] and [[Agkistrodon contortrix|copperhead]]) are indigenous, but reports of bites are rare. Many types of frogs, including tree frogs and bullfrogs, are easily heard in early summer, as are [[cicada]]s in July and August. [[American black bear|Black bears]] occasionally wander down from the mountains, and [[white-tailed deer]] are abundant; overpopulated in some areas. Homeowners in the outer suburbs are prone to landscaping damage due to scavenging deer.

The most common [[bird]]s are the [[brown thrasher]] (the GA [[List of U.S. state birds|state bird]]), [[American crow]], [[common starling|European (or common) starling]], [[American robin]], [[mourning dove]], [[house sparrow]], [[northern cardinal]], [[house finch]], [[Carolina chickadee]], [[tufted titmouse]], [[bluejay]], [[white-breasted nuthatch]], eastern bluebird, mockingbird, [[brown-headed nuthatch]], and [[Carolina wren]]. Birds of prey thrive in the area, with three varieties of hawks common near open fields in even the most populated areas. Falcons roost on skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta and can be regularly seen feasting on pigeons. 

The American kestrel is sometimes seen. Late in the year, three species of owls can be heard nightly in wooded areas. Various [[woodpecker]]s can be seen in forested lots, including the [[red-bellied woodpecker]], [[northern flicker]] (also known as the "yellow-shafted flicker"), and the [[downy woodpecker]]. The red-headed woodpecker is common in open fields and on golf courses. The [[American goldfinch]] is present mostly in winter, and the [[ruby-throated hummingbird]] only in summer.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ '''Presidential election results'''
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|DEM]]
! [[Republican Party (United States)|GOP]]
! Others
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2020|2020]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''57.0%''' ''1,684,934''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |41.6% ''1,229,242''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |1.4% ''39,950''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2016|2016]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''52.3%''' ''1,250,397''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |44.2% ''1,057,123''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |3.5% ''82,781''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2012|2012]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''49.4%''' ''1,108,989''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |49.0% ''1,099,845''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |1.5% ''34,208''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2008|2008]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''51.3%''' ''1,153,849''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |47.7% ''1,074,509''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |1.0% ''22,898''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |44.1% ''818,067''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''55.2%''' ''1,023,670''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.7% ''13,661''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |44.4% ''631,882''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''52.5%''' ''746,974''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |3.1% ''43,635''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |46.1% ''565,241''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''47.3%''' ''579,727''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |6.6% ''81,199''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1992|1992]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |43.3% ''521,891''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''43.4%''' ''522,934''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |13.4% ''161,013''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1988|1988]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |39.5% ''358,191''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''59.8%''' ''542,979''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.7% ''6,516''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1984|1984]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |38.0% ''322,409''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''61.9%''' ''524,579''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.0% ''354''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1980|1980]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''52.5%''' ''381,253''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |43.1% ''312,920''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |4.4% ''32,160''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1976|1976]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''63.9%''' ''417,621''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |35.8% ''233,778''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.3% ''1,917''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |27.4% ''142,069''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''72.3%''' ''374,580''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.3% ''1,653''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1968|1968]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |30.3% ''150,806''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |'''36.6%''' ''182,609''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |33.1% ''165,093''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''50.2%''' ''218,167''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |49.8% ''216,221''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.0% ''42''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1960|1960]]'''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''59.0%''' ''163,034''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |40.9% ''113,022''
| align="center" {{Party shading/None}} |0.0% ''91''
|}