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==Geography and climate== [[File:US_trewartha.svg|thumb|Climate map of the contiguous [[United States]], according to the [[Trewartha climate classification]]]] [[File:AerialviewoftheentrancetotheChesapeakeBayBridgeTunnel.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the [[Virginia Beach]] entrance to the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel]]]] [[File:Allentown viewed from Egypt.jpg|thumb|[[South Mountain (Eastern Pennsylvania)|South Mountain]] in eastern [[Pennsylvania]] with [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]] in the foreground in December 2010]] [[File:4thlakesunrise.jpg|thumb|The [[Fulton Chain of Lakes]] in [[Adirondack Park]] in [[Upstate New York]] in August 2007]] Three basic climate regions occur on the East Coast according to the [[Köppen climate classification]] and four occur according to the [[Trewartha climate classification]] from north to south based on the monthly mean temperature of the coldest month (January) and the number of months averaging above 50 °F (10 °C), respectively. The region from northern Maine and [[Upstate New York]] south to almost all of Connecticut, most of [[North Jersey|northern New Jersey]] (except for areas close enough to [[New York City]]), most of Pennsylvania, and [[western Maryland]] has a [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfa/Dfb/Dc''), with warm-to-hot summers, cold and snowy winters with at least one month averaging below freezing, and four to seven months with mean temperatures warmer than 50 °F. The area from [[Martha's Vineyard]] and [[Westerly, Rhode Island|extreme SW Rhode Island]] to [[Sussex County, Delaware|southern Delaware]] and [[western North Carolina]] has a warm [[temperate climate]] (''[[Humid subtropical climate|Cfa]]'' Köppen/''Do'' Trewartha) with long and hot summers with at least one month over 22°C (71.6°F), cool winters with all months over freezing, and six to seven months above 50°F. Although winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain than as snow, occasional heavy snow is possible. The area from the southern [[Delmarva Peninsula]], southeast Virginia, and [[central North Carolina]] south to central Florida is humid [[Subtropics|subtropical]] (''Cfa/Cf''), with hot and rainy summers, mild and drier winters, and eight to twelve months above 50°F. [[Urban heat island]] exclaves of this zone are found north of this area in [[Baltimore]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] The region of Florida from the south-central region of the state south to the [[Florida Keys]] has a [[tropical climate]] (''Af/Aw/Ar'') that is usually frost-free and warm to hot all year, and all of the 12 months of the year average above 18 °C (64.4 °F). This region of Florida is the only tropical climate in the continental U.S. The least common climate on the East Coast is the [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] (''Cfb/Do''), which is only found on [[Block Island]], [[Nantucket]], and the Outer Cape and [[Chatham, Massachusetts|Chatham]] on [[Cape Cod]], and in areas of the southern [[Appalachian Mountains]]. This zone has all monthly averages between 0 and 22 °C and six to seven months above 50 °F. Although winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain than as snow, occasional heavy snow is possible. Although landfalls are rare, the Eastern Seaboard is susceptible to [[tropical cyclone|hurricane]]s in the Atlantic hurricane season, officially running from June 1 to November 30, although hurricanes can occur before or after these dates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G1.html |title=Frequently Asked Questions: When is hurricane season? |author=Neal Dorst |publisher=Hurricane Research Division, [[NOAA]] |access-date=March 14, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506152735/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G1.html |archive-date=May 6, 2009}}</ref> Hurricanes [[Hurricane Hazel|Hazel]], [[Hurricane Hugo|Hugo]], [[Hurricane Bob|Bob]], [[Hurricane Isabel|Isabel]], [[Hurricane Irene|Irene]], and [[Hurricane Sandy|Sandy]], and most recently [[Hurricane Florence|Florence]], [[Hurricane Isaias|Isaias]], [[Hurricane Henri|Henri]], and [[Hurricane Ida|Ida]] are some of the more significant storms to have affected the region. The East Coast, with the exception of eastern Maine, is a low relief, [[passive margin]] coast.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkVqmi0MO1IC&pg=PA575 |title=Physical Geography |page=575 |first1=Robert E. |last1=Gabler |first2=James F. |last2=Petersen |first3=L. Michael |last3=Trapasso |first4=Dorothy |last4=Sack |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |date=2008 |access-date=March 14, 2016 |isbn=978-0495555063 |archive-date=March 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315040213/https://books.google.com/books?id=VkVqmi0MO1IC&pg=PA575 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been shaped by the [[Pleistocene glaciation]] in the far northern areas in New England, with offshore islands such as [[Nantucket]], [[Martha's Vineyard]], [[Block Island]], and [[Fishers Island, New York|Fishers Island]]. From [[North Jersey|northern New Jersey]] southward, the coastal plain broadens southwards, separated from the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region by the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line]] of the East Coast rivers, often marking the head of navigation and prominent sites of cities. The coastal areas from [[Long Island]] south to Florida are often made up of [[barrier island]]s that front the coastal areas, with the long stretches of sandy beaches. Many of the larger capes along the lower East Coast are in fact barrier islands, like the [[Outer Banks]] of North Carolina and [[Cape Canaveral]], Florida. The Florida Keys are made up of limestone coral and provide the only [[coral reef]]s on the U.S. mainland.
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