Editing Cary, North Carolina (section)

==Geography==
{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=10|id=Q852665|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of Cary}}
Located in the [[Piedmont (United States)|piedmont]] region of North Carolina, most of Cary is in western Wake County, with neighborhood-sized sections in the northeast corner of Chatham County and small portions of southwest Durham County.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=William S. |date=2006 |title=Wake County |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/wake |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=NCpedia}}</ref><ref name="Cary-2019">{{cite web |date=March 14, 2019 |title=Town Limits Layout |url=https://www.townofcary.org/home/showdocument?id=1799 |access-date=February 26, 2020 |website=Town of Cary |location=Cary, North Carolina}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Information Lookup |url=https://carync.maps.arcgis.com/apps/InformationLookup/index.html?appid=493359b586d042c0b559578fd7c38026 |access-date=August 16, 2023 |website=carync.maps.arcgis.com}}</ref> According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|61.05|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|59.94|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.11|sqmi}} (1.82%) is water.<ref name="TigerWebMapServer" /> Cary is bordered on the north and east by Raleigh, generally toward the north by Research Triangle Park and [[Morrisville, North Carolina|Morrisville]], on the south by Apex and [[Holly Springs, North Carolina|Holly Springs]], and on the west by the [[Jordan Lake]] area.<ref name="Cary-2019" />

Cary is seated on the boundary between the [[Durham Basin]] with its softer [[sedimentary rock]]s and the piedmont with its harder [[metamorphic rock]]s; both geologic provinces have [[Igneous rock|igneous]] rock intrusions.<ref name="Cary Land Use-2009a">"[https://www.townofcary.org/home/showdocument?id=8501#:~:text=Cary's%20landscape%20consists%20primarily%20of,slopes%20occur%20in%20west%20Cary. Town of Cary Land Use. Chapter 2]". ''Town of Cary''. August 2009. p. 2.2. Retrieved November 7, 2022.</ref> The landscape is typically gentle to moderate sloping hills separated by narrow V-[[V-shaped valley|shaped valleys]], but there are areas with steeper slopes and broader, [[U-shaped valley]]s in western Cary, roughly along NC 55 near the Research Triangle Park and north of Green Hope School Road.<ref name="Cary Land Use-2009a" /> Cary's average elevation is {{Convert|495|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=gnis/>

The Cary [[drainage basin]] includes three main creeks—the [[Crabtree Creek (Neuse River tributary)|Crabtree]], the Swift, and the Walnut—which are all [[Tributary|tributaries]] of the [[Neuse River]].<ref name="Howland-1988" /> Most streams in the area have narrow floodplains with riverine wetlands, but Crabtree, Middle, Swift, and [[White Oak Creek (New Hope River tributary)|White Oak Creeks]] are larger and have broader floodplains.<ref>"[https://www.townofcary.org/home/showdocument?id=8501#:~:text=Cary's%20landscape%20consists%20primarily%20of,slopes%20occur%20in%20west%20Cary. Town of Cary Land Use. Chapter 2]". ''Town of Cary''. August 2009.  p. 2-7. Retrieved November 7, 2022.</ref> There are several small lakes in the area, most notably [[Lake Crabtree]], created for flood control of Crabtree Creek.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanders |first=Joe |date=February 10, 1971 |title=Crabtree Tree Lake Work Expected Soon |page=9 |work=The News and Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93608437/ |access-date=January 27, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 13, 1971 |title=Watershed Group Acquires Land for Crabtree Lake Site |page=24 |work=The News and Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93608603/ |access-date=January 27, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Jordan Lake is a large reservoir, flood control, and recreational facility that abuts part of western Cary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=B. Everett Jordan |url=https://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Locations/District-Lakes-and-Dams/B-Everett-Jordan/ |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=US Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District}}</ref>

Suburbanization is the typical land use in Cary. However, some areas are still undeveloped forests or agricultural, such as the agricultural areas west of NC 55 in [[Green Level, North Carolina|Green Level]], [[Middle Creek Township, Wake County, North Carolina|Upper Middle Creek]] and the [[Carpenter, North Carolina|Carpenter]] community.<ref name="Cary Land Use-2009">"[https://www.townofcary.org/home/showdocument?id=8501#:~:text=Cary's%20landscape%20consists%20primarily%20of,slopes%20occur%20in%20west%20Cary. Town of Cary Land Use. Chapter 2"]. ''Town of Cary''. August 2009.  p. 2-12. Retrieved November 7, 2022.</ref> There is a mixture of mature [[conifer]]s and [[broadleaf trees|broadleaf]] trees in Cary's parks, nature preserves, and older subdivisions such as Farmington Woods, Greenwood Forest, and Kildaire Farms because tree preservation was a key design element.<ref name="Cary Land Use-2009" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-11 |title=Urban Escape in the Heart of Cary, NC - Triangle Land Conservancy |url=https://www.triangleland.org/explore/nature-preserves/swift-creek-bluffs-nature-preserve |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=www.triangleland.org |language=en-US}}</ref> According to the ''Town of Cary Land Use Plan'', newer construction in Cary, both residential and commercial, shows "less regard for tree preservation and replanting."<ref>"[https://www.townofcary.org/home/showdocument?id=8501#:~:text=Cary's%20landscape%20consists%20primarily%20of,slopes%20occur%20in%20west%20Cary. Town of Cary Land Use. Chapter 2]". ''Town of Cary''. August 2009. p. 2-12. Retrieved November 16, 2022.</ref>

===Climate===
Cary has a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'') under the [[Köppen climate classification]] system, with hot summers, mildly cold winters with  {{Convert|3.2|in|cm|abbr=on}} of snow annually, and several months of pleasant weather each year.<ref name="Weatherbase-2022">{{Cite web |title=Cary, North Carolina |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=470713&cityname=Cary,+North+Carolina,+United+States+of+America |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=Weatherbase}}</ref> Temperature extremes in Cary range from the single digits to over {{Convert|100|F|C|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Weatherbase-2022" /> [[Tropical cyclone]]s can affect Cary, usually after weakening substantially from being over land.<ref name="Weatherbase-2022" /> Some, such as [[Hurricane Fran]] in 1996, have caused great damage in the area.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=September 10, 2018 |title=Hurricane Fran Coverage |url=https://www.wral.com/hurricane-fran/17834050/ |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=WRAL.com |language=en}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Cary, North Carolina (1991–2020 normals, extremes 2000–present)
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 80
|Feb record high F = 80
|Mar record high F = 89
|Apr record high F = 92
|May record high F = 96
|Jun record high F = 101
|Jul record high F = 101
|Aug record high F = 101
|Sep record high F = 97
|Oct record high F = 97
|Nov record high F = 85
|Dec record high F = 78
|year record high F = 101
|Jan high F = 50.2
|Feb high F = 54.0
|Mar high F = 61.4
|Apr high F = 71.1
|May high F = 78.1
|Jun high F = 84.9
|Jul high F = 88.2
|Aug high F = 86.0
|Sep high F = 80.3
|Oct high F = 71.1
|Nov high F = 61.5
|Dec high F = 53.3
|year high F = 70.0
|Jan mean F = 40.7
|Feb mean F = 43.3
|Mar mean F = 49.9
|Apr mean F = 59.0
|May mean F = 67.2
|Jun mean F = 74.8
|Jul mean F = 78.6
|Aug mean F = 76.9
|Sep mean F = 70.9
|Oct mean F = 60.4
|Nov mean F = 50.3
|Dec mean F = 43.7
|year mean F = 59.6
|Jan low F = 31.2
|Feb low F = 32.6
|Mar low F = 38.5
|Apr low F = 46.8
|May low F = 56.3
|Jun low F = 64.6
|Jul low F = 69.0
|Aug low F = 67.9
|Sep low F = 61.5
|Oct low F = 49.7
|Nov low F = 39.2
|Dec low F = 34.1
|year low F = 49.3
|Jan record low F = 6
|Feb record low F = 7
|Mar record low F = 15
|Apr record low F = 27
|May record low F = 38
|Jun record low F = 49
|Jul record low F = 58
|Aug record low F = 53
|Sep record low F = 44
|Oct record low F = 30
|Nov record low F = 20
|Dec record low F = 12
|year record low F = 6
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.54
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.90
|Mar precipitation inch = 4.04
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.73
|May precipitation inch = 3.74
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.59
|Jul precipitation inch = 5.31
|Aug precipitation inch = 4.81
|Sep precipitation inch = 5.57
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.54
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.50
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.53
|year precipitation inch = 48.80
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=nws>{{cite web |url=https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rah |title=NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCDC>{{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=USC00311535&format=pdf |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=Station: Cary, NC |work=U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020) |access-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}