Editing Blandford, Massachusetts (section)

==Geography==
[[Image:Blandford - MA Route 23 West.jpg|thumb|right|Route 23 westbound through the center of Blandford]]
The town is located near the eastern edge of the [[The Berkshires|Berkshire Hills]], above an ancient [[rift valley|rift zone]] where the [[Connecticut River]] Valley is downfaulted approximately {{convert|1000|ft}}. The town's elevations range from about {{convert|400|ft}} above sea level along streams approaching the [[Westfield River]] (a major tributary of the Connecticut) to hilltops as high as {{convert|1700|ft}}. Elevations increase to the west with expansive views eastward across the Connecticut River Valley as far as [[Mount Monadnock]] in southern [[New Hampshire]]. Local relief is as high as {{convert|500|ft}} near streams flowing into the Westfield River, but away from these streams the town is characterised by rolling uplands.

Abandoned fields and pastures have reverted to forests of beech, birch, maple, hemlock, pine and oak. Land reserved for woodlots and never cleared was repeatedly logged; however, logging has declined in recent decades, so forests are reclaiming some [[old-growth forest|old growth]] qualities and animal species that have been absent or rare for some 200 years are returning.

Blandford has significant water resources in its streams and ponds. The city of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]] has reserved the upper watershed of the Little River, a tributary of the Westfield, as the city's main water supply, [[Cobble Mountain Reservoir]].

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the town of Blandford has a total area of {{convert|138.4|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|133.6|sqkm|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|4.8|sqkm|order=flip}}, or 3.48%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/0600000US2501306085| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Blandford town, Hampden County, Massachusetts| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| access-date=August 2, 2017| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213160211/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/0600000US2501306085| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref> All of the town except for its southwest corner is part of the Westfield River watershed, although the river itself passes north and east of the town. The southwestern corner of Blandford drains via [[Otis Reservoir]] to the [[Farmington River]], which like the Westfield is a tributary of the [[Connecticut River]].

The [[Blandford (CDP), Massachusetts|Blandford town center]] is in the east-central part of the town, along [[Massachusetts Route 23]]. Via MA 23 and [[U.S. Route 20 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 20]], Blandford is {{convert|21|mi}} west of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], the largest city in western Massachusetts. [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts|Pittsfield]] is {{convert|27|mi}} to the northwest via local roads.