RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arizona >> Maricopa County >> Cactus >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Cactus:
    • 33.598652, -112.030426
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Cactus
  • 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 Maricopa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Maricopa County
    • Since Cactus is near Pinal County and also Yavapai County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pinal County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Yavapai 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Cactus

Communities Also Named Cactus ...

We found six communities that are also named Cactus.

Within Arizona, the name Cactus is unique.

Beyond Arizona, we know of six communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Imperial County
      • This Cactus is located in Imperial County and lies 173 miles [278.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Cactus that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Imperial County community of Cactus.
      • San Diego 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 California community of Cactus [San Diego County].
    • Kansas
      • Norton 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 Cactus [Norton County].
    • Texas
      • Moore County
      • This Cactus is located in Moore County and lies 592 miles [952.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Cactus that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Moore County community of Cactus.
      • Webb County
      • This Cactus is located in Webb County and lies 845 miles [1,359.9 km] to the east southeast of the Cactus that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Webb County community of Cactus.
    • Washington
      • Franklin County
      • This Cactus is located in Franklin County and lies 968 miles [1,557.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Cactus that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Cactus.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Cactus ...

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.

  • Firebrand Ranch
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Firebrand Ranch is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firebrand Ranch
  • Greentrails
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Greentrails is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentrails
  • Heritage Highlands
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Heritage Highlands is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Highlands
  • Links Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Links Point is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Links Point
  • Lookout Mountain
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lookout Mountain is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout Mountain
  • Moon Valley Canyon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Moon Valley Canyon is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Valley Canyon
  • Mountain Vista
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Mountain Vista is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Vista
  • Paradise City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Paradise City is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise City
  • Pepper Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Pepper Ridge is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepper Ridge
  • Quail Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Quail Valley is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Valley
  • Sandalwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandalwood is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandalwood
  • Shadow Mountain
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Shadow Mountain is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Mountain
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Skyline Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Skyline Heights is located in Maricopa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Heights
    • Sunnyslope
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunnyslope is located in Maricopa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyslope
    • Sunset Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Sunset Hills is located in Maricopa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
    • Sweetwater Garden
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Sweetwater Garden is located in Maricopa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater Garden
    • Turtle Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Turtle Creek is located in Maricopa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Creek
    • Village Fairways
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Village Fairways is located in Maricopa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Fairways

How Far From Cactus 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 Cactus to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Cactus and extending to:

  • Phoenix, which is the Seat of Maricopa County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Cactus to Phoenix, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Phoenix, which is the State Capital of Arizona, lies 10 miles [16.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take a little over three hours and walking would take four to five hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,970 miles [3,170.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take three full days, a buggy would take 77 days and walking would take 112 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,437 miles [11,968.7 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 8,202 miles [13,199.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,140 miles [9,881.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cactus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Cactus 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>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 Cactus to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cactus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5987, Longitude: -112.0304       In this case, the coordinates for Cactus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 331.148 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 329.932 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.149 degrees.