Editing Houghton, Michigan (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Portage Lake Lift Bridge(Night).JPG|thumb|The Portage Lake Lift Bridge connecting the cities of Hancock and Houghton]]
The city is located on the south shore of the [[Keweenaw Waterway]], on rolling wooded hills, less than a mile across Portage Lake<ref>{{cite book |first=Clarence |last=Monette | author-link=Clarence J. Monette | title=Some Copper Country Names and Places: Fifth of a Local History Series |publisher=Welden H. Curtin |location=Lake Linden, MI |pages=22–23 |year=1975}}</ref> from [[Hancock, Michigan|Hancock]]. The city is bounded on the east by [[Portage Township, Houghton County, Michigan|Portage Township]] and Pilgrim, on the west by [[Dakota Heights, Michigan|Dakota Heights]] and [[Adams Township, Houghton County, Michigan|Adams Township]], and on the south by [[Hurontown, Michigan|Hurontown]] and Isle Royale Location, unincorporated communities that are part of Portage Township. Houghton is named after [[Douglass Houghton]], discoverer of [[copper]] nearby. Houghton is also the home of [[Michigan Technological University]]. The city is served by [[Houghton County Memorial Airport]] in nearby Oneco.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|4.69|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|4.45|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.24|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=November 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112090031/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 12, 2012}}</ref>

In the West Houghton neighborhood is West Houghton Park, featuring an outdoor ice rink and lawn tennis courts. Along [[Portage Lake (Keweenaw)|Portage Lake]] is the Raymond Kestner Waterfront Recreation Area, the principal feature of which is a large "[[Chutes and Ladders]]" [[playground]]; it also includes Houghton Beach. Along the waterfront, in the area that used to be occupied by the railroad tracks, runs the flat, paved<ref name="keweenawnow.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keweenawnow.com/happenings/art_music_festival_05_05/festival_may_05.htm |title=Art and Music Festival May 2005<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=June 26, 2005 |archive-date=October 18, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051018055238/http://www.keweenawnow.com/happenings/art_music_festival_05_05/festival_may_05.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Waterfront Trail]] for cyclists and pedestrians; at one end of this is the Houghton RV Park,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofhoughton.com/rec-rv.php |title=RV Park - City of Houghton |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005153035/http://www.cityofhoughton.com/rec-rv.php |archive-date=October 5, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> at the other end the Nara Nature Park and midway along this corridor is [[Mattila Square]].<ref name="keweenawnow.com"/> Prince's Point is also along this trail.<ref>http://usg.students.mtu.edu/usg/index.php?curpage=116 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Veterans Park is just across the [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge]] from Hancock, and contains the memorial to the Houghton Company, which fought in the [[United States Civil War|Civil War]]. Houghton is the headquarters for [[Isle Royale National Park]].

The [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge|Portage Lift Bridge]] spans [[Keweenaw Waterway|Portage Lake]], which is part of the river and canal system that crosses the entire peninsula, connecting [[Hancock, Michigan|Hancock]] and Houghton. The bridge, which provides {{convert|100|ft|m}} of vertical clearance for ships when open, is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical lift bridge. Since rail traffic was discontinued in the Keweenaw, the lower deck is used to accommodate [[snowmobile]] traffic in the winter. The bridge provides the only link between the north and south sections of the Keweenaw peninsula.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keweenaw.info/virtualkeweenaw.aspx |title=Virtual Keweenaw Peninsula |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721215720/http://www.keweenaw.info/virtualkeweenaw.aspx |archive-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref>

===Climate===
[[File:ISS053-E-223431.jpg|thumb|Houghton, Michigan at center-right along the bottom. Taken at 1:58 a.m. Central on November 10, 2017, during ISS [[Expedition 53]].]]

Houghton has a [[humid continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfb'') but the (typically) long and snowy (due to lake-effect snow, with an average of {{convert|218|in|m|2|disp=or}})<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Houghton |url=http://www.cityofhoughton.com/ |access-date=June 29, 2004 |archive-date=November 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120183602/http://history.cityofhoughton.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> winters make the city feel as though it is in a climate much farther north. It holds the distinction of having the third-most (behind [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]] and [[International Falls, Minnesota|International Falls]] in [[Minnesota]]) maxima below {{convert|32|F|C}} of any incorporated city in the contiguous US, with the top temperature failing to rise above freezing an average of 100.9 days per year.<ref name="NOAA"/> It is sometimes said that Houghton has "two seasons: winter’s here and winter’s coming".<ref>{{cite book |first=Michael |last=McKinley |title=Hockey: A People's History |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd. |isbn=0-7710-5769-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/hockeypeopleshis0000mcki/page/43 43] |year=2006 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hockeypeopleshis0000mcki/page/43}}</ref>

While Houghton's winters may be the subject of humor, residents take the subject of snow and winter very seriously. Houghton is a [[Winter City]]—a community that accommodates winter, celebrates it, and whose residents generally enjoy the season by participating in a variety of outdoor activities. Among those activities are cross country skiing, snow-shoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating and outdoor ice hockey, among other activities. Houghton celebrates winter through the “Winter Carnival” organized by Michigan Tech every year in February.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bluekey.students.mtu.edu/exe/index.php |title=Winter Carnival 2012 Theme: "From all over the state, what makes Michigan great" February 8 - 11 |website=Blue Key Honor Society |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105055220/http://bluekey.students.mtu.edu/exe/index.php |archive-date=November 5, 2011}}</ref>

Houghton's summer climate tends to be especially pleasant, as hot temperatures are often moderated by the cool waters of nearby Lake Superior. The city's record high temperature of {{convert|102|F|C|1}} was recorded July 7, 1988; this is the only day in the city's history with a temperature over {{convert|100|F|C|1|disp=or}}. Temperatures below {{convert|0|F|C|1|disp=or}} are also relatively infrequent due to the moderating effect of the lake, being reached only on 18.3 nights per year as against over fifty at International Falls. The coldest temperature on record is {{convert|-30|F|C|1}}, set on February 9, 1951. The heaviest monthly snow total was {{convert|119|in|m|2}} in December 1978; the winter of 1978–1979 saw {{convert|354.1|in|m|2}} of snow fall, making it the snowiest in 109 years of continuous records at the [[Houghton County Memorial Airport|county airport]] (1891–2000). The greatest snow depth recorded was {{convert|73|in|m|2}} at the end of February 1937; in only two winters between 1891–1892 and 1999–2000 (1925–26 with {{convert|16|in|m|2|disp=or}} and 1932–33 with {{convert|19|in|m|2|disp=or}}) has the snow depth never reached at least two feet ({{convert|24|in|m|2|disp=or}}).

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Houghton, Michigan ([[Houghton County Memorial Airport|Houghton Co. Airport]]), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1887–present
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 50
|Feb record high F = 60
|Mar record high F = 79
|Apr record high F = 88
|May record high F = 95
|Jun record high F = 99
|Jul record high F = 102
|Aug record high F = 98
|Sep record high F = 95
|Oct record high F = 86
|Nov record high F = 77
|Dec record high F = 64
|year record high F = 102
|Jan avg record high F = 37.8
|Feb avg record high F = 41.8
|Mar avg record high F = 53.7
|Apr avg record high F = 69.3
|May avg record high F = 83.1
|Jun avg record high F = 87.5
|Jul avg record high F = 88.4
|Aug avg record high F = 87.9
|Sep avg record high F = 82.4
|Oct avg record high F = 73.9
|Nov avg record high F = 56.2
|Dec avg record high F = 43.4
|year avg record high F = 91.5
|Jan high F = 22.2
|Feb high F = 24.6
|Mar high F = 33.7
|Apr high F = 45.7
|May high F = 60.6
|Jun high F = 70.5
|Jul high F = 75.4
|Aug high F = 74.1
|Sep high F = 65.7
|Oct high F = 51.5
|Nov high F = 38.0
|Dec high F = 27.7
|year high F = 49.1
|Jan mean F = 16.1
|Feb mean F = 17.0
|Mar mean F = 25.2
|Apr mean F = 37.2
|May mean F = 50.2
|Jun mean F = 59.7
|Jul mean F = 65.0
|Aug mean F = 64.2
|Sep mean F = 56.4
|Oct mean F = 44.0
|Nov mean F = 32.0
|Dec mean F = 21.9
|year mean F = 40.7
|Jan low F = 10.0
|Feb low F = 9.3
|Mar low F = 16.7
|Apr low F = 28.6
|May low F = 39.7
|Jun low F = 48.9
|Jul low F = 54.7
|Aug low F = 54.2
|Sep low F = 47.2
|Oct low F = 36.5
|Nov low F = 26.0
|Dec low F = 16.2
|year low F = 32.3
|Jan avg record low F = -6.6
|Feb avg record low F = -8.8
|Mar avg record low F = -5.4
|Apr avg record low F = 14.1
|May avg record low F = 28.7
|Jun avg record low F = 36.9
|Jul avg record low F = 44.4
|Aug avg record low F = 43.0
|Sep avg record low F = 32.3
|Oct avg record low F = 24.5
|Nov avg record low F = 11.5
|Dec avg record low F = -1.6
|year avg record low F = -12.8
|Jan record low F = −29
|Feb record low F = −30
|Mar record low F = −23
|Apr record low F = -4
|May record low F = 19
|Jun record low F = 28
|Jul record low F = 32
|Aug record low F = 34
|Sep record low F = 24
|Oct record low F = 12
|Nov record low F = −7
|Dec record low F = −19
|year record low F = -30

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.58
|Feb precipitation inch = 1.37
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.56
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.84
|May precipitation inch = 2.50
|Jun precipitation inch = 2.58
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.49
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.41
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.45
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.99
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.13
|Dec precipitation inch = 1.89
|year precipitation inch = 

|Jan snow inch = 68.8
|Feb snow inch = 30.9
|Mar snow inch = 19.2
|Apr snow inch = 7.8
|May snow inch = 1.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.2
|Oct snow inch = 4.7
|Nov snow inch = 22.2
|Dec snow inch = 52.9
|year snow inch = 207.7

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 17.4
|Feb precipitation days = 12.3
|Mar precipitation days = 11.5
|Apr precipitation days = 10.0
|May precipitation days = 11.1
|Jun precipitation days = 10.7
|Jul precipitation days = 10.8
|Aug precipitation days = 9.4
|Sep precipitation days = 13.5
|Oct precipitation days = 15.2
|Nov precipitation days = 14.9
|Dec precipitation days = 15.1
|year precipitation days = 

|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 23.2
|Feb snow days = 15.5
|Mar snow days = 10.3
|Apr snow days = 4.9
|May snow days = 0.8
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 3.5
|Nov snow days = 12.4
|Dec snow days = 19.7
|year snow days = 90.5
|humidity colour = green
|Jan humidity = 79.5
|Feb humidity = 76.1
|Mar humidity = 74.1
|Apr humidity = 67.9
|May humidity = 64.8
|Jun humidity = 70.4
|Jul humidity = 71.3
|Aug humidity = 75.5
|Sep humidity = 78.5
|Oct humidity = 77.0
|Nov humidity = 81.5
|Dec humidity = 82.6
|year humidity = 74.9
|Jan dew point C = -11.2
|Feb dew point C = -11.5
|Mar dew point C = -6.4
|Apr dew point C = -1.1
|May dew point C = 4.8
|Jun dew point C = 11.2
|Jul dew point C = 13.9
|Aug dew point C = 13.9
|Sep dew point C = 10.1
|Oct dew point C = 3.9
|Nov dew point C = -1.3
|Dec dew point C = -7.4
|source 1 = [[NOAA]] (relative humidity, dew points and sun 1961–1990, precip/snow 1981–2010)<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=mqt
|title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = September 2, 2021
|archive-date = September 3, 2021
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210903042309/https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=mqt
|url-status = live
}}
</ref><ref name = NCEI>
{{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=USW00014858&format=pdf
|title = Station: Hancock Houghton CO AP, MI
|work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020)
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = September 2, 2021
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230916055220/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00014858&format=pdf
|archive-date = September 16, 2023
}}
</ref><ref name = NCEIsnow>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00014858&format=pdf
|title=Station: Hancock Houghton CO Airport, MI
|work = U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1981–2010)
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = September 2, 2021
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230916055229/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00014858&format=pdf
|archive-date = September 16, 2023
}}
</ref><ref name = NOAA2>
{{cite web
|title = WMO climate normals for HOUGHTON LAKE, MI 1961–1990
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
|url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_IV/US/GROUP4/72638.TXT
|access-date = September 16, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230916052656/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_IV/US/GROUP4/72638.TXT
|archive-date = September 16, 2023
}}
</ref>
}}