Rhode Island is made up of two main geographic regions. The western two-thirds of the state is made up of the New England Upland Region, which is rough and hilly and includes forests and lakes. The eastern third of the state is made up of the Seaboard Lowland, which has sandy beaches and salt marshes. The highest point in the state is Jerimoth Hill, at 812 feet (248 m), in the northwest. The lowest points are along the seashore. Rhode Island's land also includes Block Island, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the mainland, as well as around 38 islands in Narragansett Bay, such as Conanicut, Prudence, and Rhode (Aquidneck) islands.
Rhode Islands’ biggest rivers are the Blackstone, the Pawtuxet, and the Pawcatuck. The Blackstone once provided waterpower for the textile mills built at Woonsocket, Pawtucket, and many villages in between. The north branch of the Pawtuxet River was flooded in the 1920s, when a dam was built at the village of Kent. This created the Scituate Reservoir, which is now the state’s largest body of fresh water. The Pawcatuck River flows across the southern part of the state into Block Island Sound. Narragansett Bay runs along two-thirds the length of the state. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was used to transport fish and goods from Newport, Bristol, and Providence.
Rhode Island has a humid climate, with cold winters and short summers. The average monthly temperature is 29 °F (−2 °C) in January and 71 °F (22 °C) in July. The record high temperature, 104°F (40°C), was registered in Providence on 2 August 1975; the record low, –23°F (–31°C), was recorded at Kingston on 11 January 1942. Rhode Island receives around 46 inches (1,170 mm) of rain each year and around 37 in (94 cm) of snow. Because Rhode Island is on the Atlantic coast, the weather is very changeable, and hurricanes, ice storms, and tropical storms are common. On 21 September 1938, a hurricane and tidal wave took a toll of 262 lives; Hurricane Carol, on 31 August 1954, left 19 dead, and property damage was estimated at $90 million. A blizzard on 6–7 February 1978 dropped a record 28.6 in (73 cm) of snow on the state and caused 21 deaths.
