Editing Tamaqua, Pennsylvania (section)

==Geography==
Tamaqua is located in a valley basin at {{coord|40|47|55|N|75|57|59|W|type:city}} (40.798600, −75.966498)<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> in Pennsylvania's southern [[Coal Region]] section of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] in the [[Schuylkill River]] [[drainage basin]]. Tamaqua's valley is located at the western end of the [[Pocono Mountains]] on the edge of the neighboring [[Lehigh River]] watershed. Tamaqua's terrain is typical of many mid-size [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]] with low lands and flat towns with business, rail transport, and industries in its lower valley locations and residential dwellings on the higher elevated slopes above.

According to the [[United States census|U.S. Census Bureau]], the borough has a total area of {{convert|10.0|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|9.8|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.1|sqmi|km2}} (1.31%) is water. Three streams pass through Tamaqua: The [[Little Schuylkill River]] runs through Tamaqua from the north through the gap separating the folds of [[Sharp Mountain]] on the west and [[Nesquehoning Mountain]]. [[Panther Creek (Little Schuylkill River tributary)|Panther Creek]] flows southwest from [[Lansford, Pennsylvania|Lansford]], five miles away, and joins the Little Schuylkill River in Tamaqua. Wabash Creek joins the Little Schuylkill from the west.

In the Tamaqua area, [[coal mining]] was a vital economic activity throughout the 20th century, but more recent diminished use of coal as a [[power station|power plant]] fuel and the demise of [[Steam engine|steam powered traction]], coal has since experienced a decline. Tamaqua also gained recognition as a railroad center. In 1885, the [[Edison Illuminating Company]] in Tamaqua furnished the town with the nation's second [[Incandescence|incandescent]] municipal lighting system, a feat accomplished by the innovation of [[Thomas Edison]].

The nearest city to Tamaqua is [[Hazleton, Pennsylvania|Hazleton]], which is 12.5 miles north. Tamaqua is {{convert|15|mi|km}} east of [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania|Pottsville]], {{convert|14|mi|km}} southwest of [[Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania|Jim Thorpe]], approximately {{convert|60|mi|km}} south of [[Scranton, Pennsylvania|Scranton]], approximately {{convert|95|mi|km}} northwest of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], and approximately {{convert|100|mi|km}} southwest of [[New York City]].

Tamaqua's average elevation is {{convert|870|ft|m}} above sea level, but elevations can reach up to {{convert|1000|ft|m}} above sea level.

The borough has a warm-summer [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfb'') and the [[hardiness zone]] is 6a. Average monthly temperatures range from 26.0&nbsp;°F in January to 71.0&nbsp;°F in July.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/|title = PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University}}</ref>