Augusta, Georgia

 city, county seat

Augusta is now a consolidated city and county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. In 1995, citizens of Augusta and unincorporated Richmond County voted to consolidate their city and county governments. Citizens of Hephzibah and Blythe, also located in Richmond County, voted against joining in the consolidation of Augusta and Richmond County. Augusta and Richmond County's consolidation took effect January 1, 1996.

The consolidated government consists of a mayor and 10 commissioners. Eight commissioners represent specific districts, while the other two represent super districts that represent half of the county's population respectively. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844, not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.

Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area, which as of 2010 had an estimated population of 556,877, making it both the second-largest city and the second-largest metro area in the state after Atlanta, as well as the 116th-largest city in the United States.

Internationally, Augusta is best known for hosting The Masters Golf Tournament each spring.The city’s famous golf course, the Augusta National Golf Club, hosts the first major golf tournament of each year, The Masters. This tournament is one of the most prestigious in the sport and is one of the four major championships. The best professional and amateur golfers in the world come to Augusta during the first full week of April every year. The grounds of Augusta National are known for being pristine, and the course was ranked in 2009 as the 3rd best golf course in the world by Golf Magazine.

for more on the history of Augusta see @:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Augusta,_Georgia

for large-scale inter-active on-line digital map on Richmond County official website see: mapweb.augustaga.gov/augusta/