From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Photo courtesy of Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta (pronounced /at'lænta/ or /æt'lænta/) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia.

As of 2008, Atlanta is the thirty-third largest city in the United States, with an estimated population of 537,958. Its metropolitan area, officially named the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA (commonly referred to as Metropolitan Atlanta) is the ninth largest metropolitan area in the country, inhabited by approximately 5.5 million people. Like most areas in the Sun Belt, the Atlanta region has seen explosive growth in the past decade, adding more than 1.13 million residents between 2000 and 2008. It is the fastest growing area of the United States behind the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Considered a top business city and transportation hub, Atlanta is the world headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company, AT&T Mobility, and Delta Air Lines. Atlanta has the country's fourth largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies and more than 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the metro area. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is located seven miles south of downtown Atlanta, is the world's busiest airport and the only major airport to serve the city.

Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County and the fifth location for the seat of government of the state of Georgia. A small portion of the city of Atlanta corporate limits extends into DeKalb County. Residents of the city are known as Atlantans.