Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Aurora, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Aurora and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Aurora
- 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 Aurora:
- 38.286694, -118.900867
- 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 Aurora
- 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 Mineral County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mineral County
- Since Aurora is near Mono County and also Lyon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mono County
- eBird sighting report for Lyon 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 Aurora ...
We found 43 communities that share the name Aurora.
Within Nevada, the name Aurora is unique.
Beyond Nevada, we know of another 43 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 43 communities, 43 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alaska
- This Aurora lies 2,172 miles [3,495.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Brevard County
- This Aurora is located in Brevard County and lies 2,297 miles [3,696.7 km]<1> to the east of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brevard County community of Aurora.
- Hillsborough County
- This Aurora is located in Hillsborough County and lies 2,207 miles [3,551.8 km] to the east of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Aurora.
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Buchanan County
- This Aurora is located in Buchanan County and lies 1,452 miles [2,336.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buchanan County community of Aurora.
- Keokuk County
- This Aurora is located in Keokuk County and lies 1,423 miles [2,290.1 km] to the east northeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Keokuk County community of Aurora.
- Kansas
- Clark County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Clark County].
- Cloud County
- This Aurora is located in Cloud County and lies 1,149 miles [1,849.1 km]<1> to the east of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cloud County community of Aurora.
- Coffey County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Coffey County].
- Cowley County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Cowley County].
- Jewell County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Jewell County].
- Norton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Norton County].
- Osage County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Osage County].
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Saint Louis County
- This Aurora is located in Saint Louis County and lies 1,481 miles [2,383.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Aurora.
- Steele County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Aurora [Steele County].
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Colfax County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Colfax County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colfax County community of Aurora.
- Mora County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of Aurora [Mora County].
- San Miguel County
- This Aurora is located in San Miguel County and lies 774 miles [1,245.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Miguel County community of Aurora.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Aurora lies 2,067 miles [3,326.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Jefferson County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Jefferson County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Aurora.
- Wise County
- This Aurora is located in Wise County and lies 1,249 miles [2,010.1 km]<1> to the east of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Aurora.
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Florence County
- This Aurora is located in Florence County and lies 1,650 miles [2,655.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Florence County community of Aurora.
- Washington County
- This Aurora is located in Washington County and lies 1,627 miles [2,618.4 km] to the east northeast of the Aurora that is located in Mineral County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Aurora.
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Aurora ...
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.
- Chinatown ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
- Chinatown is located in Mono County (CA)
- Dog Town ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Elbow Stage Station ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbow Stage Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbow Stage Station
- Elbow Stage Station is located in Lyon County
- Esmeralda ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Lower Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Town
- Lower Town is located in Mono County (CA)
- Lucky Boy ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Masonic ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Willow Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Mono County (CA)
How Far From Aurora 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 Aurora to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Aurora once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Aurora and extending to:
- Hawthorne, which is the Seat of Mineral County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Aurora to Hawthorne, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Carson City, which is the State Capital of Nevada, lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,239 miles [3,603.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 88 days and walking would take 128 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,313 miles [11,769.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,081 miles [13,005.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,104 miles [9,823.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Nevada: nv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Aurora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aurora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2867, Longitude: -118.9009 |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Aurora could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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 Aurora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Aurora to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.318 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.716 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.02 degrees. |