Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Amsterdam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Amsterdam and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Amsterdam
- 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 Amsterdam:
- 37.430271, -120.541747
- 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 Amsterdam
- 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 Merced County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Merced County
- Since Amsterdam is near Stanislaus County and also Mariposa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Stanislaus County
- eBird sighting report for Mariposa 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
Communities Also Named Amsterdam ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Amsterdam.
Within California, the name Amsterdam is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New York
- Franklin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Amsterdam [Franklin County].
- Montgomery County
- This Amsterdam is located in Montgomery County and lies 2,443 miles [3,931.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Amsterdam that is located in Merced County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Amsterdam.
- Ohio
- Auglaize County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Auglaize County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Auglaize County community of Amsterdam.
- Jefferson County
- This Amsterdam is located in Jefferson County and lies 2,120 miles [3,411.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Amsterdam that is located in Merced County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Amsterdam.
- Licking County
- This Amsterdam is located in Licking County and lies 2,048 miles [3,295.9 km] to the east northeast of the Amsterdam that is located in Merced County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Licking County community of Amsterdam.
- Ross County
- This community is historic and although located in Ross County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ross County community of Amsterdam.
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Amsterdam lies 1,322 miles [2,127.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Amsterdam that is located in Merced County.
- Texas
- Brazoria County
- Although located in Brazoria County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazoria County community of Amsterdam.
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Amsterdam ...
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.
- Arena
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Castle Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Gardens
- Castle Gardens is located in Merced County
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Empire
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Empire is located in Stanislaus County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Empire <5>
- Granite Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granite Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Springs
- Granite Springs is located in Mariposa County
- Hatch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west) - Hills Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Ferry
- Hills Ferry is located in Stanislaus County
- Indian Gulch ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Gulch
- Indian Gulch is located in Mariposa County
- Irwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Plainsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
- Plainsburg is located in Merced County
- Split Rock Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Split Rock Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Ferry
- Split Rock Ferry is located in Mariposa County
How Far From Amsterdam to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Amsterdam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Amsterdam and extending to:
- Merced, which is the Seat of Merced County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Amsterdam to Merced, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 94 miles [151.3 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,341 miles [3,767.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,401 miles [11,910.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,169 miles [13,146.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,203 miles [9,982.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Amsterdam. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Merced County: www.co.merced.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 from Point A (ie- Amsterdam) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Amsterdam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4303, Longitude: -120.5417 |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Amsterdam could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 Amsterdam, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Amsterdam to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.587 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.19 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.018 degrees. |