Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Port Costa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Port Costa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Port Costa
- 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 Port Costa:
- 38.045377, -122.186287
- 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 Port Costa
- 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 Port Costa is near Solano County and also Napa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Solano County
- eBird sighting report for Napa 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 Port Costa ...
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.
- Christie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Crockett
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett
- Crockett is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crockett <2>
- Glencove
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Hercules
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hercules
- Hercules is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,221 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hercules <2>
- Martinez
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
- Martinez is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38,027 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinez <2>
- Mountain View
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Contra Costa County
- Rodeo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodeo
- Rodeo is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rodeo <2>
- Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Solano County
- Vine Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Port Costa 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 Port Costa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Port Costa and extending to:
- Martinez, which is the Seat of Contra Costa County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 52 miles [83.7 km]<3> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Port Costa to Sacramento, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,416 miles [3,888.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 7,393 miles [11,897.9 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 8,160 miles [13,132.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,215 miles [10,002.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Port Costa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Port Costa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Port Costa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0454, Longitude: -122.1863 |
| <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 Port Costa 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 340.035 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.966 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.022 degrees. |