Located in the foothills

Foothills

Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...

 of the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

, Rome is the largest city and the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Floyd County, Georgia

Floyd County, Georgia

Floyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 90,565. Census estimates for 2007 show a population of 95,618...

, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area

Rome, Georgia metropolitan area

The Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county – Floyd – in northwest Georgia...

which encompasses all of Floyd County. At the 2009 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, the city had a total population of 36,031, and was the largest city in Northwest Georgia

Northwest Georgia

Northwest Georgia includes the counties of:*Dade County*Walker County*Catoosa County*Whitfield County*Murray County*Gordon County*Chattooga County*Floyd County*Bartow County*Paulding County*Polk County*Haralson County...

.

Although no Interstate highway passes through Rome, it is the largest city near the center of the triangular area defined by the Interstate highways between Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

 and Chattanooga

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

, which contributes to its importance as a regional

Régional

Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, or Régional for short, is a subsidiary airline wholly owned by Air France which connects hubs at Paris, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, and Bordeaux to 49 airports in Europe. The airline operates in Air France livery, retaining its name in small titles and logo on...

 center in several areas, such as medical care and education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

.