The boundaries of Georgia, as deduced from the Constitution of Georgia, the Convention of Beaufort, the Articles of Cession and Agreement with the United States of America entered into on April 24, 1802, the Resolution of the General Assembly dated December 8, 1826, and the adjudications and compromises affecting Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina are as follows:
From the sea, at the point where the northern edge of the navigable channel of the River Savannah intersects a point three geographical miles east of the ordinary low water mark, generally along the northern edge of the navigable channel up the River Savannah, along the northern edge of the sediment basin to the Tidegate, thence along the stream thereof to the fork or confluence made by the Rivers Keowee and Tugalo, and thence along said River Tugalo until the fork or confluence made by said Tugalo and the River Chattooga, and up and along the same to the point where it touches the northern boundary line of South Carolina, and the southern boundary line of North Carolina, which is at a point on the thirty-fifth parallel of north latitude, reserving all the islands in said Rivers Savannah, Tugalo, and Chattooga, except for the Barnwell Islands and Oyster Bed Island in the Savannah, to Georgia; thence on said line west, to a point where it merges into and becomes the northern boundary line of Alabama - it being the point fixed by the survey of the State of Georgia, and known as Nickajack; thence in a direct line to the great bend of the Chattahoochee River, called Miller's Bend - it being the line run and marked by said survey; and thence along and down the western bank of said Chattahoochee River, along the line or limit of high-water mark, to its junction with the Flint River; thence along a certain line of survey made by Gustavus J. Orr, a surveyor on the part of Georgia, and W. Whitner, a surveyor on the part of Florida, beginning at a fore-and-aft tree about four chains below the junction; thence along this line east, to a point designated 37 links north of Ellicott's Mound on the St. Marys River; thence along the middle of said river to the Atlantic Ocean, and extending therein three geographical miles from ordinary low water along those portions of the coast and coastal islands in direct contact with the open sea or three geographical miles from the line marking the seaward limit of inland waters; thence running in a northerly direction and following the direction of the Atlantic Coast to the point where the northern edge of the navigable channel of the River Savannah intersects a point three geographical miles east of the ordinary low water mark, the place of beginning; including all the lands, waters, islands, and jurisdictional rights within said limits; and also all the islands within three geographical miles of the seacoast.
(Laws 1788, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 150; Code 1863, § 17; Code 1868, § 15; Code 1873, § 15; Code 1882, § 15; Civil Code 1895, § 16; Civil Code 1910, § 16; Ga. L. 1916, p. 29, § 1; Code 1933, § 15-101; Ga. L. 1969, p. 678, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 824, § 1.)
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Phrase added to clarify treatment of coastal islands.
- Addition of the phrase "and coastal islands," in this section does not render the Georgia law inconsistent with the Submerged Lands Act, but appears to be simply an attempt to clarify one question left unanswered by the Submerged Lands Act, but answered by the Supreme Court in United States v. California, 381 U.S. 139, 85 S. Ct. 1401, 14 L. Ed. 2d 296 (1965), that is, how are coastal islands to be treated in determining the seaward boundary. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-95 (see O.C.G.A50-2-1).
Determining boundary of state's tidal or salt waters.- Seaward boundary of Georgia's tidal or salt waters should be determined using the rules set forth in the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-95.
Boundary between Georgia and Alabama along Chattahoochee River is west bank of that river. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 26.
Boundaries of state's property vary with considerations of state's position.- If the state is classed with all of the other owners of tidewater land, the boundaries of the state's property clearly extend to the low-water mark or encompass generally the entire tidewater bed; on the other hand, when the state's unique position as local political sovereign is taken into consideration, the state's rights of ownership extend far beyond this point for an additional three miles out to sea. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 66-49.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 72 Am. Jur. 2d, States, Territories, and Dependencies, § 26 et seq.
C.J.S.- 81A C.J.S., States, §§ 12, 16 et seq.
ALR.- Validity, construction, and application of Submerged Lands Act (SLA) of 1953, 43 U.S.C.A. §§ 1301 et seq., 68 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 363.