Editing Athens, Ohio (section)

== Geography ==
[[File:Hocking River Athens.jpg|thumb|right|Hocking River]]
Athens is located in the [[unglaciated Allegheny Plateau]] about 47 miles from [[Chillicothe, Ohio|Chillicothe]] and 35 miles west of [[Marietta, Ohio|Marietta]]. Athens is surrounded by hills that rise about three hundred feet from river valley to the narrow ridge tops. The county extends west from the [[Ohio River]], mostly centered around the lower [[Hocking River]] watershed.
According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of {{convert|10.05|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|9.83|sqmi}} (or 97.81%) is land and {{convert|0.22|sqmi}} (or 2.19%) is water.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/2010_place_list_39.txt |title=2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files for Places – Ohio |publisher=United States Census |access-date=2012-10-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://timetravel.mementoweb.org/memento/2010/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/2010_place_list_39.txt |archive-date=2016-07-02}}</ref> Large sections of Athens and Ohio University are located in the floodplain of the Hocking River. Over the last two centuries the town suffered from many destructive floods, including notable floods in 1832, 1873, 1907, 1937, 1949, 1964 and 1968.<ref name="Straw">Straw, Richard. "Images of America: Athens" Arcadia Publishing. 2007.</ref> In 1969 the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] completed a major work that rerouted and expanded the channel of the Hocking River, for a stretch of several miles around the town, moving the river hundreds of feet to the south.<ref name="Straw"/> That project and the ongoing efforts to maintain the channel have greatly reduced the negative effects of seasonally high river levels.

Athens is located mostly on and around a south-jutting ridge bordered by a loop in the Hocking River. The underlying [[geology]] is mostly [[sandstone]] and [[shale]], including "[[redbed]]" shale that presents a severe slip hazard when structures are built over it on hillsides. However, there are safe zones above sandstone beds, most notably the Connelsville Sandstone that outcrops high on the hillsides. The old Athens Mental Hospital grounds (now part of the university) was built on the top of a hillside in the late 1860s, and is completely stable due to its position atop the hill rather than on a slope. The recent University Courtyard Apartments is also built on similar underlying geology across a small valley, but the hilltop was extensively removed in order to create a stable base. The city receives all its water supply from wells in unconsolidated river [[aquifer]]s, and is reputed to be the largest city in the United States to do so.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}

===Climate===
Athens has a [[hot-summer humid continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfa''), typical of most of Ohio.
{{Weather box
|location = Athens, Ohio (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present)
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 77
|Feb record high F = 80
|Mar record high F = 87
|Apr record high F = 93
|May record high F = 95
|Jun record high F = 102
|Jul record high F = 106
|Aug record high F = 104
|Sep record high F = 100
|Oct record high F = 92
|Nov record high F = 85
|Dec record high F = 80
|year record high F = 106
|Jan high F = 38.0
|Feb high F = 42.2
|Mar high F = 52.2
|Apr high F = 65.2
|May high F = 72.3
|Jun high F = 79.5
|Jul high F = 82.4
|Aug high F = 81.5
|Sep high F = 76.2
|Oct high F = 65.2
|Nov high F = 53.2
|Dec high F = 42.6
|year high F = 62.5
|Jan mean F = 29.8
|Feb mean F = 32.8
|Mar mean F = 41.1
|Apr mean F = 52.4
|May mean F = 61.1
|Jun mean F = 69.4
|Jul mean F = 72.7
|Aug mean F = 71.4
|Sep mean F = 65.0
|Oct mean F = 53.8
|Nov mean F = 42.6
|Dec mean F = 34.6
|year mean F = 52.2
|Jan low F = 21.5
|Feb low F = 23.4
|Mar low F = 30.1
|Apr low F = 39.7
|May low F = 50.0
|Jun low F = 59.2
|Jul low F = 63.0
|Aug low F = 61.4
|Sep low F = 53.8
|Oct low F = 42.4
|Nov low F = 32.1
|Dec low F = 26.7
|year low F = 41.9
|Jan record low F = −28
|Feb record low F = −15
|Mar record low F = -8
|Apr record low F = 12
|May record low F = 26
|Jun record low F = 33
|Jul record low F = 35
|Aug record low F = 36
|Sep record low F = 24
|Oct record low F = 12
|Nov record low F = 4
|Dec record low F = −26
|year record low F = -28
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.89
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.94
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.57
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.78
|May precipitation inch = 4.20
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.50
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.34
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.16
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.18
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.93
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.91
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.16
|year precipitation inch = 41.56
|Jan snow inch = 5.8
|Feb snow inch = 5.9
|Mar snow inch = 2.3
|Apr snow inch = 0.1
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.5
|Dec snow inch = 3.0
|year snow inch = 17.6
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 13.3
|Feb precipitation days = 11.4
|Mar precipitation days = 12.1
|Apr precipitation days = 12.2
|May precipitation days = 13.9
|Jun precipitation days = 12.1
|Jul precipitation days = 11.3
|Aug precipitation days = 10.1
|Sep precipitation days = 8.7
|Oct precipitation days = 10.1
|Nov precipitation days = 10.3
|Dec precipitation days = 12.7
|year precipitation days = 138.2
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 5.2
|Feb snow days = 4.5
|Mar snow days = 1.9
|Apr snow days = 0.3
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.6
|Dec snow days = 3.3
|year snow days = 15.8
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name = NOAA >
{{cite web
| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rlx
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = August 7, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00330279&format=pdf
| title = Station: Athens OU, OH
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = August 7, 2021}}</ref>
}}