Chatham County, Georgia

Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County Administrative and Legislative Center in Savannah
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 5, 1777
Named for	William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
Seat	Savannah
Largest city	Savannah
Area
• Total	632 sq mi (1,637 km2)
• Land	426 sq mi (1,103 km2)
• Water	206 sq mi (534 km2), 32.6%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	286,956
• Density	622/sq mi (240/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.chathamcounty.org

Chatham County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is located on the state's Atlantic coast. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. One of the original counties of Georgia, Chatham County was created February 5, 1777, and is named after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 population estimate for Chatham County was 286,956 residents, making Chatham the most populous Georgia county outside the Atlanta metropolitan area. In the official 2010 census, the population of Chatham County was 265,128. Chatham is the core county of the Savannah metropolitan area.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 632 square miles (1,640 km²), of which 426 square miles (1,100 km²) is land and 206 square miles (530 km²) (32.6%) is water.

Chatham County is the northernmost of Georgia's coastal counties on the Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the northeast by the Savannah River, and in the southwest bounded by the Ogeechee River.

The bulk of Chatham County, an area with a northern border in a line from Bloomingdale to Tybee Island, is located in the Ogeechee Coastal sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The portion of the county north of that line is located in the Lower Savannah River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin, while the very southern fringes of the Chatham County are located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.