Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fountain Hills, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fountain Hills and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fountain Hills
- 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 Fountain Hills:
- 33.611438, -111.728904
- 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 Fountain Hills
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Maricopa County
- Since Fountain Hills is near Pinal County and also Gila County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pinal County
- eBird sighting report for Gila 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 Fountain Hills ...
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.
- Cactus Villa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cactus Villa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cactus Villa
- Cactus Villa is located in Maricopa County
- Chimney Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimney Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Hill
- Chimney Hill is located in Maricopa County
- Continental Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Continental Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Continental Village
- Continental Village is located in Maricopa County
- Desert Highlands
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Desert Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desert Highlands
- Desert Highlands is located in Maricopa County
- Desert Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Desert Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desert Ridge
- Desert Ridge is located in Maricopa County
- Fountain View
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain View
- Fountain View is located in Maricopa County
- Harmony Villa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony Villa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Villa
- Harmony Villa is located in Maricopa County
- Heritage Court
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Court have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Court
- Heritage Court is located in Maricopa County
- Heritage Terrace
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Terrace
- Heritage Terrace is located in Maricopa County
- Homestead
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Mission Monterey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Monterey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Monterey
- Mission Monterey is located in Maricopa County
- Pinnacle Paradise
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinnacle Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinnacle Paradise
- Pinnacle Paradise is located in Maricopa County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Pinnacle Peak Shadows
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinnacle Peak Shadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinnacle Peak Shadows
- Pinnacle Peak Shadows is located in Maricopa County
- Pinnacle Peak Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinnacle Peak Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinnacle Peak Village
- Pinnacle Peak Village is located in Maricopa County
- Sweetwater Ranch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetwater Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater Ranch
- Sweetwater Ranch is located in Maricopa County
- Windsong
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Woodleaf
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pinnacle Peak Shadows
How Far From Fountain Hills 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 town such as Fountain Hills to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Fountain Hills and extending to:
- Phoenix, which is the Seat of Maricopa County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Fountain Hills to Phoenix, with an average speed<3> 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.
- Phoenix, which is the State Capital of Arizona, lies 22 miles [35.4 km] to the west southwest (WSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,953 miles [3,143 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 111 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,428 miles [11,954.2 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 8,192 miles [13,183.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,129 miles [9,863.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Fountain Hills: www.ci.fountain-hills.az.us/
The official website for Maricopa County: www.maricopa.gov/
The official website for State of Arizona: https://az.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 '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- Fountain Hills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fountain Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6114, Longitude: -111.7289 |
| <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 Fountain Hills 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 330.913 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 329.65 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.986 degrees. |