Editing Westchester County, New York (section)

==Geography==
[[File:NRHA 1.png|thumb|upright|Harbors, islands and shoreline of New Rochelle]]Westchester County is located in the [[New York metropolitan area]] and [[Downstate New York]], north of [[New York City]] and south of [[Upstate New York]]. It shares its southern boundary with New York City and its northern border with [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam County]]. It is bordered on the west side by the Hudson River and on the east side by the Long Island Sound and [[Fairfield County, Connecticut]]. According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|500|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|430|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|69|sqmi}} (14%) is water.<ref name="GR1"/>

Where [[Pelham Manor]] meets [[Pelham Bay Park]] in the Bronx, the [[southern Westchester|southern border of Westchester]] is just under {{convert|11|mi|km}} from [[Columbus Circle]] in [[Manhattan]]. At over {{convert|2700|acre|km2}}, Pelham Bay Park is the largest of New York City's parks, forming a substantial buffer between suburban Westchester and the urban Bronx, while [[Van Cortlandt Park]] to the west acts as a similar buffer.

===Long Island Sound shore===
Westchester's Long Island Sound shore is generally rocky, interspersed with [[tidal mud flats]], [[marsh]]es and [[wetland]]s, as well as several natural and artificially-maintained sand beaches. Municipal and county owned parks provide access to beaches, nature preserves and passive and active waterfront recreational facilities. Several large harbors lie along the shore including [[Milton Harbor (Long Island Sound)|Milton Harbor]] in [[Rye, New York|Rye]], [[Mamaroneck|Mamaroneck Harbor]], [[Larchmont|Larchmont Harbor]], and [[Echo Bay (Long Island Sound)|Echo Bay]], and the [[New Rochelle Harbor (Long Island Sound)|upper]] and [[New Rochelle Harbor (Long Island Sound)|lower]] harbors in southern [[New Rochelle, New York|New Rochelle]].

A number of islands can be found off the Long Island Sound shore, most of which are located in New Rochelle. [[Davids Island (New York)|Davids Island]], the former location of the U.S. Army's [[Fort Slocum]], is currently unoccupied but is slated for use as passive parkland; [[Glen Island Park (New Rochelle, New York)|Glen Island]], currently a Westchester Parks Department run beach and park, was one of the first amusement parks in the country serving as a summer resort at the turn of the twentieth century; [[Huckleberry Island]] is largely undeveloped, and has one of the largest [[rookery|rookeries]] in western Long Island Sound; Echo Island is owned and used by a private [[yacht club]]; [[Execution Rocks Light|Execution Rocks]] is the site of a 19th-century lighthouse listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]; [[Columbia Island (New York)|Columbia]], [[Pea Island (New Rochelle, New York)|Pea]], and [[Goose Island (Long Island Sound)|Goose Islands]] are undeveloped; Clifford, Harrison and Tank Islands are part of the "Five Islands Park" and nature preserve; while Oak and Pine Islands are used as private residences.

===Hudson River===
[[File:PocanticoRiver3.jpg|thumb|left|[[Philipsburg Manor House]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York|Sleepy Hollow]]]]The widest section of the Hudson River, at {{convert|3.6|mi|km|0}}, is found between the Westchester and Rockland County shorelines immediately north of Croton Point. In Colonial times, this area was called the Tappan Zee or Sea. The Hudson River is tidal and brackish through Westchester and contains a small number of estuarine marshes. Two bridges span the Hudson in Westchester: the [[Bear Mountain Bridge]] crosses at [[Cortlandt, New York|Cortlandt]] and the [[Tappan Zee Bridge (2017–present)|Tappan Zee Bridge]] at [[Tarrytown, New York|Tarrytown]]. Municipal, county and state-owned parks provide access to waterfront landmarks and sites, including Croton Point in Croton, Kingsland Point in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York|Sleepy Hollow]] and JFK Memorial Marina in Yonkers.

The Hudson River waterfront in Westchester is in a transitional period, converting from primarily industrial uses to mixed residential, commercial, retail, and recreational uses. This transformation is most notable in Yonkers, [[Hastings-on-Hudson]], [[Dobbs Ferry]], [[Irvington, New York|Irvington]], Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, [[Ossining (village), New York|Ossining]], and [[Peekskill]], where redevelopment projects are in various stages of design and completion. In 2004, the county began a project to create Westchester RiverWalk, a walkway along the Hudson River of {{convert|51.5|mi|km|sigfig=1}} which will provide pedestrian access between New York City and Putnam County. 32.9 miles of the route are complete and accessible.<ref name="RiverWalk"/>

At {{convert|987|feet}}, the highest elevation in the county is a [[US National Geodetic Survey|U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey]] [[Benchmark (surveying)|benchmark]] known as "Bailey" in Mountain Lakes Park near the Connecticut state line.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/nyregion/supersized-from-the-biggest-to-the-tallest.html|title=Supersized, From the Biggest To the Tallest|last=Rubenstein|first=Carin|date=November 9, 2003|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229034610/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/09/nyregion/supersized-from-the-biggest-to-the-tallest.html|archive-date=December 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>  The lowest elevation is sea level, along both the Hudson and Long Island Sound.

===Watersheds===
[[File:CrotonReservoir2.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[New Croton Reservoir]] is the largest of many in the county.]]

Westchester County is divided into six primary [[drainage basin]]s or watersheds: the Upper and Lower Long Island Sound; and the Bronx, Upper Hudson, Lower Hudson, and Croton River basins. Within these primary drainage basins are approximately 60 smaller basins, or subwatersheds. The principal streams draining the southern part of the county include Beaver Swamp Brook, [[Blind Brook watershed|Blind Brook]], [[Bronx River]], [[Hutchinson River]], [[Mamaroneck River]], [[Saw Mill River]], Sheldrake River, Stephenson Brook and [[Tibbetts Brook (New York)|Tibbetts Brook]]. The primary streams draining the central part of the county include [[Byram River]], Kisco River, [[Mianus River]], Mill River, [[Pocantico River]] and Silvermine River. The principal streams draining the northern part of the county include Dickey Brook, Furnace Brook, Hallocks Mill Brook, Hunter Brook, Muscoot River, Peekskill Hollow Brook, and [[Titicus River]]. The county contains several major reservoirs; The [[Croton system]] and the [[Kensico Reservoir]] are important components of the New York City water supply system. The system is a series of interconnected reservoirs and lakes in northern Westchester and Putnam Counties that provide 10% of New York City's water under normal conditions and up to 30% in times of drought. The components of the system include the [[New Croton Reservoir]], the [[Cross River Reservoir]], the [[Titicus Reservoir]], the [[Amawalk Reservoir]], and the [[Muscoot Reservoir]]. Other major reservoirs are the [[Kensico Reservoir|Kensico]] and Byram Lake Reservoir, while there are a number of smaller reservoirs throughout the county.

The Westchester County Department of Planning divides the county into North, Central and South sub-regions.<ref name="Auto3Z-2"/>

===Geology===
The rock that underlies [[Manhattan]] and Westchester is chiefly [[gneiss]] and [[mica]]-[[schist]], with layers of dolomitic [[marble]] and [[Serpentine group|serpentine]].

===Climate===
The climate of Westchester County is borderline [[humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]] and [[Humid continental climate|humid continental]] (Köppen: ''Cfa/Dfa''). Winters are cold, wet, and occasionally snowy throughout the county, with more snow inland in higher elevations. Summers are hot inland but cooler towards the coast, with a relative dryness in the early summer. Precipitation is plentiful and in some elevated areas reaches over 50&nbsp;inches. Snowfall is more common in Westchester than in New York City, with the exception of the southeast of the county where snowfall is often between 20 and 25 inches. In January, inland areas have a low of 21–26&nbsp;°F and a high of 34–37&nbsp;°F while coastal areas have a low of 27–30&nbsp;°F and a high of 38–41&nbsp;°F. In the summer, this effect is much milder. Coastal areas, including Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Rye, and Port Chester have highs of 81–83&nbsp;°F and lows of 68–73&nbsp;°F, while inland highs will be 84–87&nbsp;°F and lows will be 65–70&nbsp;°F. Winds can be heavy, especially by the coast.