Editing Newton, New Jersey (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|Geography of New Jersey}}

===Geological features===
Newton is located in the [[Kittatinny Valley]], a segment of the [[Great Appalachian Valley]]. The Great Appalachian Valley is a gigantic trough—a {{convert|1,200|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|abbr=off|sp=us}} chain of valley lowlands that stretches about from [[Quebec]] to [[Alabama]] and is the easternmost edge of [[Ridge and Valley Appalachians]] [[Physiographic regions of the world|physiographic province]]. This physiographic province, one of five in New Jersey, occupies approximately two-thirds of the county's area (the county's western and central sections) dominated by [[Kittatinny Mountain]] and the Kittatinny Valley. This province's contour is characterized by long, even ridges with long, continuous valleys in between that generally run parallel from southwest to northeast. The features of the Ridge and Valley province were created approximately 300–400 million years ago during the [[Ordovician period]] and [[Appalachian orogeny]]—a period of tremendous pressure and rock thrusting that caused the creation of the [[Appalachian Mountains]].<ref>Hatcher, Robert D. Jr. [http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_150729.htm "Tracking lower-to-mid-to-upper crustal deformation processes through time and space through three Paleozoic orogenies in the Southern Appalachians using dated metamorphic assemblages and faults"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806090332/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_150729.htm |date=August 6, 2018 }} in ''Abstracts with Programs'' (Geological Society of America), Vol. 40, No. 6, 513. Accessed August 28, 2012.</ref><ref>Bartholomew, M.J., and Whitaker, A.E., 2010, The Alleghanian deformational sequence at the foreland junction of the Central and Southern Appalachians in Tollo, R.P., Bartholomew, M.J., Hibbard, J.P., and Karabinos, P.M., eds., From Rodinia to Pangea: The Lithotectonic Record of the Appalachian Region, GSA Memoir 206, p. 431-454.</ref> This region is largely formed by [[sedimentary rock]].<ref name="LuceySCGeo">Lucey, Carol S. ''[http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/county-series/Sussex_County.pdf Geology of Sussex County in Brief].'' (Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Geological Survey, November 1969), 21pp. Accessed August 28, 2012.</ref><ref name="NJGSInfoCirc">Dalton, Richard. [http://www.nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/infocirc/provinces.pdf New Jersey Geological Survey Information Circular: Physiographic Provinces of New Jersey] (Trenton, NJ: Department of Environmental Protection, State of New Jersey, 2003, 2006). Accessed August 28, 2012.</ref>

Newton's land area drains into the watersheds of the Paulins Kill and [[Pequest River]]—two rivers that are tributaries of the Delaware River. These watersheds are separated by slate ridges that are part of the [[Martinsburg Formation]]. These slate ridges were quarried for slate for roofs and other industrial purposes beginning with a quarry opened by Elijah Blackwell in 1859 that operated under a series of different owners and commercial entities until 1930.<ref>Kevin W. Wright, [http://www.newtonnj.net/Pages/newtonindustry.htm "Newton Industries"], Newton NJ: Pearl of the Kittatinny (newtonnj.net). Accessed May 12, 2015.</ref>

===Political geography===
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town had a total area of {{convert|3.38|mi2|km2}}, including {{convert|3.36|mi2|km2}} of land and {{convert|0.02|mi2|km2}} of water (0.65%).<ref name=CensusArea/><ref name=GR1 />

The Town of Newton is bordered to the north and east by [[Hampton Township, New Jersey|Hampton Township]], to the west by [[Fredon Township, New Jersey|Fredon Township]], and to the south by [[Andover Township, New Jersey|Andover Township]].<ref>[http://www.newtontownhall.com/DocumentCenter/Home/View/336#page=17 Master Plan August 2008], Town of Newton. Accessed August 2, 2016. "Newton is located in the approximate geographic center of Sussex County and shares borders with Hampton Township to the north and east, Fredon Township to the west and Andover Township to the south."</ref><ref>[https://www.sussex.nj.us/FCpdf/Sussex%20County%20Map%20-%207-1-03.pdf Sussex County Map], [[Sussex County, New Jersey]]. Accessed March 1, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/polnoroads.pdf New Jersey Municipal Boundaries], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]. Accessed November 15, 2019.</ref>

===Climate and weather===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Newton NJ town green blizzard of January 1905.jpg|right|thumb|Newton's town green and the county courthouse seen after the blizzard of January 1905]] -->
Because of its location in the higher elevations of northwestern New Jersey's Appalachian mountains, Newton, as well as the rest of Sussex County, has a cooler [[humid continental climate]] or [[microthermal]] climate ([[Köppen climate classification]] Dfb) which indicates patterns of significant precipitation in all seasons and at least four months where the average temperature rises above {{convert|10|°C}}<ref>The determination of Dfb (warm summer subtype) region is from Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., and McMahon, T. A. (University of Melbourne). [http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification] from ''Hydrology and Earth System Sciences'' (2007), 11:1633–1644, doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. Accessed August 3, 2011.</ref><ref name="ThornthwaiteNAmericaClimates">Thornthwaite, Charles Warren. ''Atlas of Climatic Types in the United States 1900-1939: U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 421''. (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1941); and Thornthwaite. "The Climates of North America: According to a New Classification" in ''Geographical Review'' (October 1931), 21(4):633-655.</ref><ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=771682&cityname=Newton%2C+New+Jersey%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Newton, New Jersey], Weatherbase.com.</ref> This differs from the rest of the state which is generally a humid [[mesothermal]] climate, in which temperatures range between {{convert|-3|and|18|°C|°F|abbr=on}} during the year's coldest month.<ref name="ThornthwaiteNAmericaClimates" /><ref>See also: Hare, F.K. "Climatic classification" in Stamp, L.D., and Wooldridge, S.W. (editors). ''The London Essays in Geography'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1951), 111-134.</ref> Sussex County is part of [[Hardiness zone|USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6]].<ref>[http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/ZoneInfo.cfm?ZipCode=07461&submit=Look+it+up%21 "What is my arborday.org Hardiness Zone?"], Arbor Day Foundation. Accessed March 31, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Downloads.aspx 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USA)], United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and Oregon State University. (2012). Accessed August 3, 2013.</ref>

During winter and early spring, New Jersey in some years is subject to "[[nor'easters]]"—significant storm systems that have proven capable of causing [[blizzards]] or [[flooding]] throughout the northeastern United States. [[Hurricanes]] and [[tropical storms]], [[tornadoes]], and [[earthquakes]] are relatively rare. The Kittatinny Valley to the north of Newton, part of the [[Great Appalachian Valley]], experiences a [[snowbelt]] phenomenon and has been categorized as a [[microclimate]] region known as the "[[Sussex County Snow Belt]]." This region receives approximately {{convert|40|to|50|in}} of snow per year and generally more snowfall that the rest of Northern New Jersey and the Northern Climate Zone.<ref>[http://climate.rutgers.edu/stateclim/?section=uscp&target=NJCoverview The Climate of New Jersey], Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist. Accessed September 10, 2015.</ref> This phenomenon is attributed to the [[orographic lift]] of the [[Kittatinny Mountains|Kittatinny Ridge]] which impacts local weather patterns by increasing [[humidity]] and [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]].<ref>Carney, Leo. H. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/nyregion/weather-microclimates-big-variations.html "Weather; Microclimates, Big Variations."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 30, 2005. Accessed August 1, 2018. "In places like Hidden Valley and throughout the snow belt of northwestern Sussex County, a condition known as orographic lifting can increase humidity and precipitation."</ref>

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Newton have ranged from a low of {{convert|17|F}} in January to a high of {{convert|84|F}} in July. Average monthly precipitation ranged from {{convert|2.86|in}} in February to {{convert|4.76|in}} in June.<ref name="weather">[http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USNJ0359 Monthly Averages for Newton, New Jersey], The Weather Channel. Accessed October 13, 2013.</ref>

According to the [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] [[Natural Resource Conservation Service]] [[soil survey]], the area receives [[sunshine]] approximately 62% of the time in summer and 48% in winter. Prevailing winds are typically from the southwest for most of year; but in late winter and early spring come from the northwest. The [[1994 North American cold wave|lowest recorded temperature was −26 °F on January 21, 1994]]. The highest recorded temperature was {{convert|104|F|C|abbr=on}} on September 3, 1953. The heaviest one-day snowfall was {{convert|24|in}} recorded on January 8, 1996 (combined with the next day, total snowfall was 40&nbsp;inches). The heaviest one-day rainfall—{{convert|6.70|in}}— was recorded on August 19, 1955.<ref>U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service, ''Soil Survey of Sussex County, New Jersey'' (Washington, DC: 2009).</ref>