Editing Bluffton, South Carolina (section)

==Geography==
Bluffton was once mostly wetlands, many of which were drained possibly during the antebellum era. Agriculture and pine timber harvesting contributed to the landscape still present today. The town proper consists of five primary areas. The historic district of Old Town, on the northern bluff of the May River; Palmetto Bluff, located on the southern side of the May River; Jones Estate, situated along the New River; Buckwalter, located on the northwest side of town; and Shultz Tract, north of Old Town. The May River winds through the center of town. The New River forms the southwest boundary of the town.

===Topography===
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|54.19|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|51.97|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|2.23|sqmi}} (4.12%) is water.<ref name="TigerWebMapServer"/> Bluffton is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina by land area.<ref name="Southeastdiscovery">[http://www.southeastdiscovery.com/taxonomy/term/707/0?page=1 "Southeastdiscovery"]''Southeast Discovery'', Accessed June 12, 2012.</ref> The municipal boundary contains many large "doughnut holes" of unincorporated territory due to [[Constitution of South Carolina|South Carolina's strict annexation laws]]. Most of Bluffton was undeveloped land until the [[Real estate bubble|housing boom of the early 2000s]], which led to explosive growth in Bluffton's area. Many of Bluffton's [[planned unit development]]s were built during this time. By 2012, many of these developments remained only partially complete due to the [[Great Recession]].

=== Climate ===
Bluffton has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfa''), with very mild winters, hot, humid summers, and significant rainfall all year long. August is the wettest month; almost half of the annual rainfall occurs during the summer months in the form of [[thundershower]]s. Fall remains relatively warm through November. Winter is short and mild, and is characterized by occasional rain. [[Snow]] flurries rarely occur.  The highest temperature recorded was {{convert|107|°F|°C|0|lk=on}}, in 1986, and the lowest temperature recorded was {{convert|4|°F|°C|0}} on [[January 1985 Arctic outbreak|January 21, 1985]].<ref name="maxmintemps">Maximum and minimum temperatures from [http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USSC0028 Weather.com]</ref> Hurricanes are a major threat to the area during the summer and early fall but there has not been a major hurricane event in Bluffton since the [[1893 Sea Islands hurricane|Category 3 Sea Islands Hurricane in 1893]].

{{Weather box
|location = Bluffton, South Carolina
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 85
|Feb record high F = 84
|Mar record high F = 90
|Apr record high F = 95
|May record high F = 99
|Jun record high F = 101
|Jul record high F = 107
|Aug record high F = 103
|Sep record high F = 98
|Oct record high F = 97
|Nov record high F = 88
|Dec record high F = 83
|year record high F= 107
|Jan high F = 60
|Feb high F = 63
|Mar high F = 70
|Apr high F = 75
|May high F = 82
|Jun high F = 86
|Jul high F = 90
|Aug high F = 88
|Sep high F = 84
|Oct high F = 78
|Nov high F = 70
|Dec high F = 64
|year high F=
|Jan low F = 40
|Feb low F = 43
|Mar low F = 49
|Apr low F = 55
|May low F = 63
|Jun low F = 71
|Jul low F = 74
|Aug low F = 73
|Sep low F = 69
|Oct low F = 59
|Nov low F = 50
|Dec low F = 43
|year low F=
|Jan record low F = 4
|Feb record low F = 15
|Mar record low F = 21
|Apr record low F = 32
|May record low F = 37
|Jun record low F = 45
|Jul record low F = 50
|Aug record low F = 53
|Sep record low F = 46
|Oct record low F = 32
|Nov record low F = 23
|Dec record low F = 10
|year record low F= 4
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.97
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.31
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.43
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.15
|May precipitation inch = 1.97
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.50
|Jul precipitation inch = 6.31
|Aug precipitation inch = 7.63
|Sep precipitation inch = 5.82
|Oct precipitation inch = 4.61
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.59
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.11
|source 1 = [[The Weather Channel (United States)|The Weather Channel]]<ref name=USWC>{{cite web
| url = http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USSC0028 | title = Average Weather for Bluffton, SC – Temperature and Precipitation | access-date = June 6, 2012
}}</ref>
|date=June 2012
}}