Editing Confederate States of America (section)

===Region and climate===
The Confederate States of America claimed a total of {{convert|2919|mi|km}} of coastline, thus a large part of its territory lay on the seacoast with level and often sandy or marshy ground. Most of the interior portion consisted of arable farmland, though much was also hilly and mountainous, and the far western territories were deserts. The southern reaches of the [[Mississippi River]] bisected the country, and the western half was often referred to as the [[Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War|Trans-Mississippi]]. The highest point (excluding Arizona and New Mexico) was [[Guadalupe Peak]] in Texas at {{convert|8750|ft|m}}.

[[File:Map of CSA 4.png|center|thumb|Map of the states and territories claimed by the Confederate States of America|upright=2.0]]
Much of the area had a [[humid subtropical climate]] with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. The climate and terrain varied from vast [[swamp]]s to semi-arid [[steppe climate|steppes]] and arid [[desert climate|deserts]]. The subtropical climate made winters mild but allowed [[infectious disease]]s to flourish; on both sides more soldiers died from disease than were killed in combat.<ref name="StatsWarCost">Two-thirds of soldiers' deaths occurred due to disease. {{cite web|last=Nofi|first=Al|author-link=Albert Nofi|title=Statistics on the War's Costs|publisher=Louisiana State University|date=June 13, 2001|url=http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/other/stats/warcost.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711050249/http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/other/stats/warcost.htm|archive-date=July 11, 2007|access-date=September 8, 2008}}
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