Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Moraga, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Moraga and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Moraga
- 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 Moraga:
- 37.835290, -122.130464
- 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 Moraga
- 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 Contra Costa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Contra Costa County
- Since Moraga is near Alameda County and also San Francisco County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alameda County
- eBird sighting report for San Francisco 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 Moraga ...
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.
- Canyon
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Canyon is located in Alameda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canyon <1>
- Danville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Danville is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
- Former name for Danville:
- Inmanville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <1>
- Fruitvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
- Former names for Fruitvale:
- Brays
- Fruit Vale
- Grand Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
- Grand Lake is located in Alameda County
- Havenscourt
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenscourt
- Havenscourt is located in Alameda County
- Maxwell Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Park
- Maxwell Park is located in Alameda County
- Rockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Seminary Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
- Seminary Park is located in Alameda County
- Sparkle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Trestle Glen
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trestle Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trestle Glen
- Trestle Glen is located in Alameda County
- Walnut Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Creek
- Walnut Creek is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69,936 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Creek <1>
- Walnut Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Heights
- Walnut Heights is located in Contra Costa County
How Far From Moraga 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 town such as Moraga to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Moraga and extending to:
- Martinez, which is the Seat of Contra Costa County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Moraga to Martinez, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 62 miles [99.8 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,417 miles [3,889.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 138 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,406 miles [11,918.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,172 miles [13,151.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,226 miles [10,019.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Moraga: www.ci.moraga.ca.us/
The official website for Contra Costa County: www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Moraga) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Moraga. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8353, Longitude: -122.1305 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Moraga to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.966 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.873 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.988 degrees. |