Whately — Geographical
Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.
WHATELY lies on the west bank of the Connecticut River, on the southern border of the county, in the form of an irregular rectangle, whose average width, from north to south, is a little more than three miles, and whose extreme length is about six miles. The northern bounds of the town are Conway and Deerfield, on the east is Sunderland, separated by the Connecticut River; and on the south and west are the towns of Hatfield and Williamsburg, in Hampshire County. About once-third of the surface of the town consists of meadow-lands, one-third of uplands, and the remainder of hills, whose sides are too steep and rocky to admit of profitable cultivation.
The principal elevations are Mount Esther, in the northwestern part, nearly 1000 feet high; Chestnut Mountain, in the southern part; Prospect Hill, near the centre; Hog Mountain and Poplar Hill, in the western part. To other hills town the names of Dry Grass, Round, Staddle, Spruce, Gutter, and Hopewell were early applied. They are composed of the rock common to this section, and in several localities limestone of excellent quality is obtained.
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