Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sierra Vista, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sierra Vista and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sierra Vista
- 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 Sierra Vista:
- 31.547907, -110.271506
- 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 Sierra Vista
- 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 Cochise County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cochise County
- Since Sierra Vista is near Santa Cruz County and also Pima County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Cruz County
- eBird sighting report for Pima 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 Sierra Vista ...
We found six communities that share the name Sierra Vista.
Within Arizona, the name Sierra Vista is unique.
Beyond Arizona, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Los Angeles County
- This Sierra Vista is located in Los Angeles County and lies 490 miles [788.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sierra Vista that is located in Cochise County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Sierra Vista.
- Madera County
- This Sierra Vista is located in Madera County and lies 689 miles [1,108.8 km] to the northwest of the Sierra Vista that is located in Cochise County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madera County community of Sierra Vista.
- Merced 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 Sierra Vista [Merced County].
- Colorado
- Jefferson County
- This Sierra Vista is located in Jefferson County and lies 640 miles [1,030 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Sierra Vista that is located in Cochise County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Sierra Vista.
- Pueblo 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 Colorado community of Sierra Vista [Pueblo County].
- New Mexico
- Lincoln County
- This Sierra Vista is located in Lincoln County and lies 296 miles [476.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sierra Vista that is located in Cochise County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Sierra Vista.
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sierra Vista ...
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.
- Black Bear Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Bear Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bear Spring
- Black Bear Spring is located in Cochise County
- Bonnie Blink
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonnie Blink have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Blink
- Bonnie Blink is located in Cochise County
- Fry
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Lewis Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewis Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Springs
- Lewis Springs is located in Cochise County
- Miracle Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle Valley
- Miracle Valley is located in Cochise County
- Signal Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Signal Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Signal Village
- Signal Village is located in Cochise County
- Sunnyside ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Sunnyside is located in Cochise County
- Village Meadows
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Meadows
- Village Meadows is located in Cochise County
How Far From Sierra Vista 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 city such as Sierra Vista to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sierra Vista and extending to:
- Bisbee, which is the Seat of Cochise County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sierra Vista to Bisbee, with an average speed<4> 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 168 miles [270.4 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,930 miles [3,106 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 76 days and walking would take 110 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,509 miles [12,084.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,270 miles [13,309.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,188 miles [9,958.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Sierra Vista: www.ci.sierra-vista.az.us/
The official website for Cochise County: www.cochise.az.gov/
The official website for State of Arizona: https://az.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sierra Vista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sierra Vista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.5479, Longitude: -110.2715 |
| <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 Sierra Vista 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> | 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 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. |
| <5> | 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 Sierra Vista to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 329.442 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 327.678 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.232 degrees. |