The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the state of Georgia and the eighth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States.

In addition to Atlanta, Georgia's capital and largest city, the Atlanta metropolitan area spans up to 31 counties in north Georgia and had a total estimated population in 2008 of 5,376,285.

Economy:
The city of Atlanta is the most wired city in the United States.[16] Many residents access the internet on a high-speed broadband and/or WiFi connection. It is home to one of the world's largest fiber-optic bundles.

Major petroleum and natural gas pipelines cross the area, running from the Gulf coast, Texas, and Louisiana to the population centers of the northeastern U.S. This includes Colonial Pipeline and Plantation Pipe Line, both based in Alpharetta.

Climate:
The Atlanta metro area has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons.
Winter: January daily lows average from 27-33°F (-3-+1°C) north to south, and highs range from 48-53°F (9-12°C), but often reach well above or below this average. There is an average annual snowfall of about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm), falling mostly from December through March.
Summer: In contrast, are long and consistently hot and humid, with July mornings averaging 71 °F (22 °C) and afternoons averaging 89 °F (32 °C), slight breezes, and typically a 20–40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. 

Topography:
The area sprawls across the low foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to the north and the piedmont to the south. The northern and some western suburbs tend to be higher and significantly more hilly than the southern and eastern suburbs. The average elevation is around 1,000 feet (300 m).

The highest point in the immediate area is Kennesaw Mountain at 1,808 ft (551 m), followed by Stone Mountain at 1,686 ft (514 m), Sweat Mountain at 1,640 ft (500 m), and Little Kennesaw Mountain at 1,600 ft (488 m).
Others include Blackjack Mountain, Lost Mountain, Brushy Mountain, Pine Mountain, and Mount Wilkinson (Vinings Mountain). Many of these play prominently in the various battles of the Atlanta Campaign during the American Civil War.