Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sand Canyon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sand Canyon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sand Canyon
- 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 Sand Canyon:
- 35.307460, -118.428696
- 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 Sand Canyon
- 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 Kern County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kern County
- Since Sand Canyon is near Tulare County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Tulare 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 Sand Canyon ...
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.
- Cable
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Claraville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claraville
- Claraville is located in Kern County
- Eric ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Fig Orchard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fig Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fig Orchard
- Fig Orchard is located in Kern County
- Golden Hills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hills
- Golden Hills is located in Kern County
- Monolith
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Piute ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Shady Rest ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Rest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Rest
- Shady Rest is located in Kern County
- Twin Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
How Far From Sand Canyon 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 Sand Canyon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Sand Canyon and extending to:
- Bakersfield, which is the Seat of Kern County, lies 34 miles [54.7 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Sand Canyon to Bakersfield, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 281 miles [452.2 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,273 miles [3,658 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 130 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,492 miles [12,057.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,261 miles [13,294.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,260 miles [10,074.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sand Canyon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kern County: www.co.kern.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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sand Canyon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sand Canyon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3075, Longitude: -118.4287 In this case, the coordinates for Sand Canyon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Sand Canyon to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 336.566 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.622 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.753 degrees. |