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Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Tehachapi, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tehachapi and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Tehachapi:
    • 35.132124, -118.447559
    • 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 Tehachapi
  • 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 Tehachapi is near Los Angeles County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • eBird sighting report for Los Angeles 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 Tehachapi ...

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
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cable have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable
    • Cable is located in Kern County
  • Eric ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eric have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eric
    • Eric is located in Kern County
  • Five Points
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
    • Five Points is located in Kern County
  • Golden Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hills
    • Golden Hills is located in Kern County
  • Monolith
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monolith have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monolith
    • Monolith is located in Kern County
  • Sand Canyon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Canyon
    • Sand Canyon is located in Kern County
  • Twin Lakes
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
    • Twin Lakes is located in Kern County
  • Twin Oaks
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Oaks
    • Twin Oaks is located in Kern County

How Far From Tehachapi to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Tehachapi to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Tehachapi and extending to:

  • Bakersfield, which is the Seat of Kern County, lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Tehachapi to Bakersfield, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over 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 291 miles [468.3 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 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,278 miles [3,666.1 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 7,503 miles [12,074.9 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 8,272 miles [13,312.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,270 miles [10,090.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>

The official website for Tehachapi: www.tehachapicityhall.com/

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' (or 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- Tehachapi) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tehachapi. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.1321, Longitude: -118.4476    
<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 Tehachapi 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 336.558 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.601 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.763 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 09 Mar 2024