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The Commemorative Quarter for California







Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Ahwin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ahwin and the surrounding area.

  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Ahwin:
    • 34.460269, -120.024308
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Ahwin
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Santa Barbara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • eBird sighting report for Santa Barbara County
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Waymark.com

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ahwin ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Gato
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gato have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gato
    • Gato is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Hope Ranch
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Ranch
    • Hope Ranch is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Isla Vista
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Junction Camp
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Camp
    • Junction Camp is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Mission
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
    • Mission is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Mission Canyon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Canyon
    • Mission Canyon is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Naples ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Summerland
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)

How Far From Ahwin to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Ahwin to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Ahwin once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Ahwin and extending to:

  • Santa Barbara, which is the Seat of Santa Barbara County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<4> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Ahwin to Santa Barbara, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 295 miles [474.8 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,378 miles [3,827 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 136 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,581 miles [12,200.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,349 miles [13,436.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,359 miles [10,233.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>

The official website for Santa Barbara County: www.countyofsb.org/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ahwin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ahwin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ahwin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4603, Longitude: -120.0243       In this case, the coordinates for Ahwin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<6>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Ahwin to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.784 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.049 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.681 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024