Editing Mercer County, Ohio (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|473|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|462|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|11|sqmi}} (2.3%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_39.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 9, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504223453/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_39.txt|archive-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> The entire county has an elevation difference of less than 300 feet. The highest point is on the southern county line at 1071 feet above sea level. This is in proximity to the head waters for the [[Wabash River]]. The lowest point in the county is 780 feet above sea level. This point is located on the northern county line where the [[St. Marys River (Indiana and Ohio)|St. Marys River]] crosses over.

===Drainage basins===
Mercer County has two rivers running through it; the [[Wabash River|Wabash]] and the [[St. Marys River (Indiana and Ohio)|St. Marys]]. The Wabash watershed is part of the [[Gulf of Mexico]]'s watershed. The St. Marys watershed is part of [[Lake Erie]]'s watershed. Creeks between these two watersheds are within a mile of each other at some places in Mercer County. The summit line that divides the [[drainage basin]]s is known as the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|St. Lawrence Continental Divide]]

====Beaver Creek====
Beaver Creek is the longest and largest creek in Mercer County. It stretches 19.7 miles and has two sections. The first section begins in southern farmland in the county and flows through the town of [[Montezuma, Ohio]] and into [[Grand Lake St. Marys State Park|Grand Lake St. Marys]]. The other section of the creek begins as a [[spillway]] and empties into the Wabash River. Beaver Creek was originally one piece, but was split into two sections after the construction of Grand Lake. The creeks' spillway, and last section, has been the subject of controversy and multimillion-dollar lawsuits. Farmers along Beaver Creek claim their land floods because of the spillway that was put up in 1997, replacing the previous spillway, built in 1913.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailystandard.com/archive/story_single.php?rec_id=16988|title=State may be ready to allow lake water out|work=The Daily Standard|access-date=May 2, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
{{See also|Grand Lake St. Marys State Park}}