Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in La Plata, we use the following websites to find information relevant to La Plata and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for La Plata
- 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 La Plata:
- 38.529423, -76.976829
- 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 La Plata
- 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 Charles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Charles County
- Since La Plata is near Prince George's County and also Saint Mary's County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Prince George's County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Mary's 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 La Plata ...
We found seven communities that share the name La Plata.
Within Maryland, the name La Plata is unique.
Beyond Maryland, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Deaf Smith County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of La Plata [Deaf Smith County].
- Presidio County
- This community is historic and although located in Presidio County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Presidio County community of La Plata.
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near La Plata ...
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.
- Clarks Run
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Run
- Clarks Run is located in Charles County
- Ellenwood
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Forest Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Forest Grove is located in Charles County
- Hickory Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
- Hickory Ridge is located in Charles County
- Kent Square
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent Square have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Square
- Kent Square is located in Charles County
- Kings Grant
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
- Kings Grant is located in Charles County
- Lyons Corner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons Corner
- Lyons Corner is located in Charles County
- Mariellen Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariellen Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariellen Park
- Mariellen Park is located in Charles County
- Port Tobacco
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Tobacco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tobacco
- Port Tobacco is located in Charles County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Tobacco <4>
- Quailwood
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Rosewick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Willow Gate
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Gate
- Willow Gate is located in Charles County
How Far From La Plata 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 La Plata to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in La Plata and extending to:
- Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 40 miles [64.4 km]<2> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from La Plata to Annapolis, with an average speed<5> 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 25 miles [40.2 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,910 miles [9,511.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,614 miles [10,644.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,491 miles [7,227.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for La Plata: www.townoflaplata.org/
The official website for Charles County: www.charlescounty.org/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about La Plata, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- La Plata) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Plata. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5294, Longitude: -76.9768 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 La Plata 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 307.877 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.368 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.83 degrees. |