Editing Ashford, Connecticut (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|39.5|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|38.8|sqmi|km2}}  is land and {{convert|0.7|sqmi|km2}}  (1.80%) is water. The [[Mount Hope River]] flows through the middle of the town, from north to south, while [[Bigelow Brook]] flows along the town's eastern border with [[Eastford, Connecticut|Eastford]]. Ashford has several lakes and ponds, notably [[Ashford Lake]], [[Lake Chaffee]], Knowlton Pond, Rychlings Pond, Halls Pond, Poole Pond (Also known as Pearson Pond),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.holeinthewallgang.org/about/camp-tour/pearson-pond/|title = Pearson Pond &#124; Hole in the Wall Gang &#124; the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp}}</ref> and Morey Pond. The community of [[Lake Chaffee (CDP), Connecticut|Lake Chaffee]] surrounds the lake of the same name.

[[Boston Hollow]], a deep ravine, is located in Ashford, in the [[Yale-Myers Forest]]. Parts of [[Natchaug State Forest]] and [[Nipmuck State Forest]] are also located in Ashford, and both the [[Natchaug Trail]] and the [[Nipmuck Trail]] runs through the town. [[Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust]] has several nature preserved in town. [[Snow Hill, Connecticut|Snow Hill]] located in the northwest corner of the town, is the highest point in Windham County at 1,210 feet.

===Flora and fauna===
[[File:Ashford_Oak,_Ashford,_CT_-_August_5,_2011.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Ashford Oak]]
Ashford is located in the [[northeastern coastal forests]], which is a [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forest]] ecoregion. Ashford is home to the [[Yale-Myers Forest]], which is used by the [[Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies]] for scientific research and education. The most famous tree in town is the [[Quercus rubra#Famous specimens|Ashford Oak]], a very large and old Northern Red Oak with a trunk that is eight meters in circumference.

The last recorded sighting of [[periodic cicadas]] belonging to [[Brood XI]] of the 17-year variety occurred in Ashford in 1954 along the [[Fenton River]].
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