Russell, Massachusetts

Russell is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,775 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.9sqmi, of which 17.6sqmi is land and 0.3sqmi (1.79%) is water. Russell borders Granville to the south, Blandford to the west, Huntington to the north, Montgomery to the northeast and Westfield to the southeast.The town has two very different sections: South Quarter is mainly uplands at elevations from 1000ft to 1400ft along the rim of a plateau west of the Connecticut River Valley.Most of the escarpment is inside the town. This is the edge of a rift valley originating in the Mesozoic Era when Europe and North America separated. The Connecticut River still follows this rift valley, known as Pioneer Valley, for its early settlement by English Puritans. The escarpment between South Quarter uplands and the valley is forested—too steep to farm—and dissected by streams that have eroded ravines back into the uplands.