Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.4 square miles (86.6 km2), of which 32.4 square miles (83.9 km2) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), or 3.17%, is water. Deerfield is located in the northern Pioneer Valley and is bordered by Greenfield to the north, Montague to the northeast, Sunderland to the southeast, Whately to the south, Conway to the west, and Shelburne to the northwest. The town center is located 8 miles (13 km) south of Greenfield, 29 miles (47 km) north of Springfield, and 93 miles (150 km) west of Boston.
Deerfield's northern point is located at the confluence of the Deerfield River and the Connecticut River, with the former flowing through the northwest corner of town and the latter forming the eastern border of town. Several brooks and the Mill River also flow through town. In the southeast corner of town, North Sugarloaf Mountain rises above the Connecticut, providing a panoramic view of the valley and the center of town. North of the mountain, the Pocumtuck Range rises along the eastern side of town.
Interstate 91 passes from south to north through the central part of town, crossing the Deerfield River near the river's southern bend to the west. The road is paralleled by U.S. Route 5 and Massachusetts Route 10, which are combined throughout the town. Additionally, Route 116 passes through town, combining with Routes 5 and 10 for a one-mile stretch, passing into Whately briefly before separating and crossing through the southern part of town and over the Connecticut River at the Sunderland Bridge. All three routes historically crossed through the center of the village prior to the building of I-91, but were rerouted to a more direct route closer to the highway.
A portion of the Springfield Terminal freight rail line passes through town before branching off eastward and westward around Greenfield. The nearest Amtrak passenger service is in Springfield; a stop in Greenfield is under construction as part of the rerouting of Amtrak's Vermonter route. Deerfield has bus service through Peter Pan Bus Lines; the nearest small air service is in nearby Gill and Northampton. The nearest national air service is Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Read more about this topic: Deerfield, Massachusetts
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Where the heart is, there the muses, there the gods sojourn, and not in any geography of fame. Massachusetts, Connecticut River, and Boston Bay, you think paltry places, and the ear loves names of foreign and classic topography. But here we are; and, if we tarry a little, we may come to learn that here is best. See to it, only, that thyself is here;—and art and nature, hope and fate, friends, angels, and the Supreme Being, shall not absent from the chamber where thou sittest.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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