Editing Arras (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Arras-Position.png|thumb|Arras in the [[Pas-de-Calais]]]]
[[File:Charles Desavary - La Scarpe.jpg|thumb|"La Scarpe" by Arras-born painter Charles Desavary]]
[[File:Summer in Arras.jpg|thumb|right|Arras in the summer]]

===Location and area===
Arras is located in northern France in the [[Hauts-de-France]] region. Hauts-de-France is divided into five [[Departments of France|departments]]: [[Nord (French department)|Nord]], [[Pas-de-Calais]], [[Somme (department)|Somme]], [[Oise]], and [[Aisne]]. Arras is in the south-east part of the Pas-de-Calais department and forms the Arras district (''[[arrondissement]] d'Arras'') in the [[Artois]], a former province of northern France.

By car, it is {{convert|182|km|mi|abbr=off}} north of Paris, {{convert|110|km|mi|abbr=off}} east of the [[English Channel]], {{convert|152|km|mi|abbr=off}} south of [[Brussels]], and {{convert|335|km|mi|abbr=off}} south of [[Amsterdam]].

The city's total area is {{convert|11.63|km2|1|abbr=on}}. The lowest point in the city is at {{convert|52|m|ft|abbr=off}} [[above sea level]] and the highest is at {{convert|99|m|ft|abbr=off}}.

===Geology===
The soil of Arras is primarily composed of [[chalk]], a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock that formed what is called the European stratigraphic unit. That [[Chalk Group]] deposited during the [[Late Cretaceous]] period 90&nbsp;million years ago. It used to be extracted to construct the most prestigious buildings and houses of Arras. As a result, residents once nicknamed the city ''La ville blanche'' (the White Town). The Arras area soil is also composed of [[clay]], which was used to produce bricks, build less noble buildings, and embellish façades. Clay is mostly found in the ''lieu-dit'' of ''La Terre Potier'' in the western part of the city.

The level of earthquake hazard in the Arras area is low, as it is in the whole Pas-de-Calais department.

===Hydrography===
Two rivers flow through Arras: the [[Scarpe (river)|Scarpe]] and the [[Crinchon]]; both are left tributaries of the {{convert|350|km|mi|abbr=off}} long [[Scheldt]] river (''L'Escaut'' in French). The Crinchon is a rather small river of {{convert|19|km|mi|abbr=off}} flowing through Arras underground, while the [[Scarpe (river)|Scarpe]] is {{convert|102|km|mi|abbr=off}} long, of which two-thirds has been turned into canals.

The source of the Scarpe is at [[Berles-Monchel]] near [[Aubigny-en-Artois]]. It flows through the cities of Arras, [[Douai]] and [[Saint-Amand-les-Eaux]]. The river ends at [[Mortagne-du-Nord]] where it flows into the Scheldt.

===Climate===
Arras mainly has a Western European [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: Cfb) affected by the [[North Atlantic Current]] as it is close to the [[English Channel]] (''La Manche'' in French). There is frequent rain in all seasons, and temperatures throughout the year are mild, as it is near the sea. Temperature variations tend to be moderate; but there are some brief cold spells as it is subject to both oceanic and continental influences. So the climate can also be referred as semi-oceanic (known as a ''Climat océanique dégradé'' in French).

Summer days are usually moderately warm and agreeable, with temperatures between {{convert|13|and|23|C|F}}, occasionally rising above {{convert|30|C}}, with a fair amount of sunshine. Some years have even witnessed some unusual long periods of harsh summer weather, such as the [[2003 European heat wave|heat wave of 2003]] where temperatures exceeded {{convert|30|C}} for weeks, reaching {{convert|38|C}} on some days and rarely even cooling down at night. Spring and Fall have rather warm days and fresh nights, but remain quite unstable. Winter days are cold but generally above freezing, at around {{convert|2|C}}; sunshine is usually scarce. Light night frosts are common as the temperature often falls below {{convert|0|C}}. Snowfall has been rare in the past decade but happens in some winters, such as [[Winter of 2009–10 in Europe|2009–10]], with unusually cold weather: much of Europe had heavy snowfall and record-low temperatures. The most recent warmest winters recorded were in 1989–90, 1994–95, 2006–07 and 2013–14. The Arras region (and most of Northern Europe) had remarkably warm and sunny weather in the winter of 2013–14.<ref name="lachainemeteo">{{cite web|url=http://actualite.lachainemeteo.com/actualite-meteo/2014-02-19-06h41/hiver-2013-2014---exceptionnellement-doux---24244.php|title=Actualité Météo : Hiver 2013-2014 : douceur exceptionnelle et arrosage copieux - La Chaîne Météo|date=29 January 2014 |publisher=actualite.lachainemeteo.com|access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref>

Rain falls throughout the year. Average annual precipitation is {{convert|742.5|mm}} with light rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year. The highest recorded temperature was {{convert|36.6|C}},{{Fix|text=Contradicts previous paragraph}} and the lowest was {{convert|-19.5|C}}.

On 28&nbsp;October 2013, ''Cyclone Christian'' (also known as the [[St. Jude storm]]), one of the strongest extra-tropical cyclones ever recorded, hit Northern Europe including the Arras area. The cyclone's central pressure was 981&nbsp;mb, and wind speeds reached a maximum of {{convert|121|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/world/europe/powerful-storm-blasts-northern-europe.html?_r=0|title=The New York Times|newspaper=nytimes.com|date=28 October 2013 |access-date=30 October 2014|last1=Castle |first1=Stephen }}</ref> The city of Arras did not experience any major damage.