Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downey, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downey and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downey
- 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 Downey:
- 33.940134, -118.133191
- 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 Downey
- 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 Los Angeles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Los Angeles County
- Since Downey is near Orange County and also San Bernardino County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- eBird sighting report for San Bernardino 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 Downey ...
We found five communities that share the name Downey.
Within California, the name Downey is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Jasper 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 Illinois community of Downey [Jasper County].
- Lake County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Downey [Lake County].
- Iowa
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downey ...
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.
- Bell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Bell is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,734 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell <3>
- Clearwater
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
- Clearwater is located in Los Angeles County
- Commerce
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Commerce is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,450 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Commerce <3>
- Evergreen ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Firestone Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Firestone Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firestone Park
- Firestone Park is located in Los Angeles County
- Gage
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Hollydale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Imperial Courts
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Imperial Courts have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imperial Courts
- Imperial Courts is located in Los Angeles County
- Maywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Maywood is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,595 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maywood <3>
- Paramount
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount
- Paramount is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,018 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paramount <3>
- Studebaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Studebaker
- Studebaker is located in Los Angeles County
- Walnut Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Park
- Walnut Park is located in Los Angeles County
- Winter Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winter Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Gardens
- Winter Gardens is located in Los Angeles County
- Workman
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
How Far From Downey 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 city such as Downey to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Downey and extending to:
- Los Angeles, which is the Seat of Los Angeles County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Downey to Los Angeles, with an average speed<5> 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 370 miles [595.5 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,289 miles [3,683.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 130 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,571 miles [12,184.3 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 8,340 miles [13,421.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,328 miles [10,183.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Downey: www.downeyca.org/
The official website for Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Downey) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downey. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9401, Longitude: -118.1332 |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Downey 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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 Downey 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 336.132 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.004 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.566 degrees. |