Editing Mount Vernon, Iowa (section)

==Geography==
Mount Vernon has a total area of {{convert|3.50|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|3.49|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.01|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2012-05-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220065340/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archive-date=2011-02-20}}</ref>

The most prominent geographic feature of Mount Vernon is the "mountain" on which it sits. This "mountain" is actually a [[Paha (landform)|paha]], a ridge formed of sand and [[loess]] along the line of the prevailing wind during the ice ages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mount Vernon Community Schools |url=https://mvcsd.org/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=mvcsd.org}}</ref> The Mount Vernon paha is roughly one mile (2&nbsp;km) long and 1/4 mile (1/2&nbsp;km) wide, aligned along a roughly northwest to southeast axis and rising up to 100 feet (30 m) above the surrounding landscape. Uptown Mount Vernon is aligned with the southeast end of the ridge crest, while the campus of [[Cornell College]] crowns the northwest end of the ridge.<ref>''Mount Vernon, Iowa,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1993</ref>

===Transportation===
The town is located on significant transportation corridors, both current and historical. The main line of the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] passes through the city, and the town is located on the historic [[Lincoln Highway]]. [[U.S. Route 30 in Iowa|U.S. Route 30]] and [[Iowa Highway 1]] intersect in the southern part of town. Passenger train service was once provided by the [[Chicago and North Western Railway]] from a station in the north of town. The [[CRANDIC]] interurban electric railway ran from Cedar Rapids, through downtown Mount Vernon, and ended in nearby [[Lisbon, Iowa|Lisbon]]. The interurban ran from 1914 to 1928 and took 45 minutes to travel to the western terminus of Cedar Rapids. Nearby stops included [[Bertram, Iowa|Bertram]], the [[Palisades-Kepler State Park|Palisades]] and [[Cornell College]].