East Lyme, Connecticut

East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,159 at the 2010 census.

Geography

East Lyme is located in southern New London County, west of Waterford and Montville, east of Lyme and Old Lyme, and south of Salem. Long Island Sound is to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.0 square miles (109 km²), of which 34.0 square miles (88 km²) is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km²), or 18.89%, is water.

Villages

The town consists primarily of two villages, Flanders and Niantic. It is common for the town of East Lyme to be erroneously called "Niantic", due to this side of town being the "beach" side which is popular with tourists and visitors in the summer months. Niantic's population doubles in the summer months for the beach season, and it has a much higher density than the more sparsely populated Flanders side of town, which is known for its apple orchards, the town's high school, and forest.