Editing Anne Arundel County, Maryland (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|588|sqmi|abbr=on}}, of which  {{convert|173|sqmi|abbr=on}} (29%) is covered by water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_24.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913171515/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_24.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2014 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=September 12, 2014 |date=August 22, 2012 |title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files }}</ref> Anne Arundel County is located to the south of [[Baltimore]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Anne Arundel County|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Anne+Arundel+County,+MD/@38.9728477,-76.7274577,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c81d08a3fbe87b:0x64855aaacef38af1!8m2!3d38.9530109!4d-76.5488232|access-date=June 20, 2020|website=Anne Arundel County|language=en}}</ref>

Most of the county's borders are defined by water. To the east lies the western shore of the [[Chesapeake Bay]], and numerous tidal tributaries of the bay indent the shoreline, the various rivers, creeks, streams, inlets forming prominent [[peninsula]]s, also known as "necks" (as further south in Virginia). The largest of these tributaries include (from north to south), the [[Magothy River]], [[Severn River (Maryland)|Severn River]], [[South River (Maryland)|South River]], and the [[West River (Maryland)|West River]]. Further south, the upper [[Patuxent River]] forms the border of Anne Arundel with [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]] to the west. [[Deep Run (Patapsco River)|Deep Run]] forms part of the northwestern border with [[Howard County, Maryland|Howard County]], and [[Lyons Creek (Maryland)|Lyons Creek]] forms part of the southern border with [[Calvert County, Maryland|Calvert County]]. The [[Patapsco River]] to the north is the border with [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]], but the communities and areas of [[Brooklyn, Baltimore|Brooklyn]] and [[Curtis Bay, Baltimore|Curtis Bay]] neighborhoods (and adjacent Fairfield, Wagner's Point [also known as East Brooklyn], Arundel Cove [off of Curtis Creek], and Hawkins Point), lying south of the [[Patapsco River]] were annexed from Anne Arundel County to [[Baltimore]] in the third major annexation of January 1919.<ref>{{cite web|title=A History of Brooklyn-Curtis Bay |url=http://www.curtisbay.com/bcb_hist/comphist.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316220813/http://www.curtisbay.com/bcb_hist/comphist.html |archive-date=March 16, 2012 }}</ref>

Anne Arundel County originally included all of the land between the Patuxent River and the Patapsco River (mainstem and South Branch) upstream to their headwaters on [[Parr's Ridge]]. The northwestern section of this long tract later became Howard County, with the border between the two running very close to the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line]]. As a result, Anne Arundel County lies almost entirely within the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]], while Howard County is almost entirely within the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont province]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}

Elevations in Anne Arundel County range from sea level at the Chesapeake and tidal tributaries to about {{convert|300|ft|m}} in western areas near the fall line.<ref>{{cite web|title=Anne Arundel County High Point, Maryland|url=http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=23023}}</ref> The terrain is mostly flat or gently rolling, but more dramatic banks and bluffs can be found where waterways cut through areas of higher elevation.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}

With the exception of the very limited extent of Piedmont underlain by [[Precambrian]] to early [[Paleozoic]] [[metamorphic rock]], all of the county is underlain by thick deposits of gravel, sand, silt, and clay dating from the early [[Cretaceous]] to [[Holocene]] times.<ref>{{cite web|title=Geological Units in Anne Arundel County, Maryland|url=http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/fips-unit.php?code=f24003|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey}}</ref>  Most of these sediments are unconsolidated but include local formations of sandstone, especially in the [[Pasadena, Maryland|Pasadena]] area.<ref>{{cite web|title=Magothy Quartzite Quarry|url={{MHT url|id=1093}}|publisher=Maryland Historic Trust}}</ref>

===Adjacent counties and independent city===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]] (north)
* [[Baltimore|Baltimore City]] (north)
* [[Calvert County, Maryland|Calvert County]] (south)
* [[Kent County, Maryland|Kent County]] (northeast)
* [[Howard County, Maryland|Howard County]] (northwest)
* [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]] (southwest)
* [[Queen Anne's County, Maryland|Queen Anne's County]] (east)
* [[Talbot County, Maryland|Talbot County]] (southeast)
{{div col end}}

===National protected area===
* [[Patuxent Wildlife Research Center]] (part)

===Climate===
[[Image:Crofton Parkway spring.JPG|right|thumb|Crofton Parkway in [[Crofton, MD|Crofton]] in early March]]
 
Anne Arundel County has a [[humid subtropical climate]], with hot summers and cool winters. Annual precipitation averages around {{convert|40|in|cm|abbr=on}} per year throughout the county, with a fairly even distribution throughout the year. Annual snowfall totals around {{convert|20.1|in|cm|abbr=on}} on average at BWI Airport, which has an elevation of {{convert|47.5|m|ft|order=flip|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref>{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00093721.normals.txt |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=Station Name: BALTIMORE WASH INTL AP |access-date=March 13, 2014}}</ref> Slightly colder winter temperatures and higher snowfall are experienced at the higher elevations, with slightly lower snowfall closer to sea level.<ref>{{cite web| title=Maryland Average Annual Snowfall Map| url=http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/md-snow-avg.gif| publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration| access-date=November 10, 2016| archive-date=May 22, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522020512/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/md-snow-avg.gif| url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the most recent [[Hardiness zone|USDA Hardiness zone]] maps, the lowland areas of the county fall into Zone 8a, with an expected annual minimum temperatures of {{convert|10|to|15|F|C}}, while higher elevation and inland areas fall into Zone 7b, with expected annual minima of {{convert|5|to|10|F|C}}.<ref>{{cite web | title=2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map | website=usda.gov| url=https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ | access-date=February 25, 2024}}</ref>