According to the United States Census Bureau, Roswell has a total area of 42.0 square miles (108.8 km²), of which 40.7 square miles (105.5 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²), or 3.06%, is water.

William Lee "Pug" Mabry led the city as Mayor from 1967 to 1997. He was known for getting the parks program started and acquiring the 63 acres for Roswell Area Park.

The lowest recorded temperature was -10 °F in January of 1985.