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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sonora, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sonora 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 Sonora:
    • 33.335327, -111.789582
    • 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 Sonora
  • 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 Sonora is near Pinal County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pinal 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 Sonora

Communities Also Named Sonora ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Sonora.

There is one other community in Arizona that is also named Sonora.

Beyond Arizona, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Arizona ...
    • Pinal 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 Arizona community of Sonora [Pinal County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Washington County
      • This Sonora is located in Washington County and lies 1,023 miles [1,646.4 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Sonora.
    • California
      • Tuolumne County
      • This Sonora is located in Tuolumne County and lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuolumne County community of Sonora.
    • Illinois
      • Hancock 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 Illinois community of Sonora [Hancock County].
    • Iowa
      • Poweshiek County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Sonora [Poweshiek County].
    • Kansas
      • Harper County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Harper County].
      • Lyon 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 Sonora [Lyon County].
      • Nemaha 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 Sonora [Nemaha County].
    • Kentucky
      • Hardin County
      • This Sonora is located in Hardin County and lies 1,480 miles [2,381.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hardin County community of Sonora.
    • Mississippi
      • Chickasaw County
      • This Sonora is located in Chickasaw County and lies 1,308 miles [2,105 km]<2> to the east of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Sonora.
    • Missouri
      • Atchison County
      • This Sonora is located in Atchison County and lies 1,016 miles [1,635.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Atchison County community of Sonora.
    • New York
      • Steuben County
      • This Sonora is located in Steuben County and lies 1,972 miles [3,173.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Steuben County community of Sonora.
    • North Dakota
      • Richland County
      • This Sonora is located in Richland County and lies 1,184 miles [1,905.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Sonora.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Sonora lies 2,742 miles [4,412.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
    • Ohio
      • Muskingum County
      • This Sonora is located in Muskingum County and lies 1,708 miles [2,748.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Sonora.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Butler County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Sonora [Butler County].
    • Texas
      • Sutton County
      • This Sonora is located in Sutton County and lies 679 miles [1,092.7 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Sonora that is located in Maricopa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sutton County community of Sonora.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sonora ...

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.

  • Cedar Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Ridge is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
  • Cloverleaf
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Cloverleaf is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverleaf
  • Fuller Ranch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fuller Ranch is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller Ranch
  • Gilbert
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Kingsgate
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Kingsgate is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsgate
  • Mission Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Mission Valley is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Valley
  • New Horizons
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • New Horizons is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Horizons
  • Quail Place
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Quail Place is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Place
  • Stonegate Crossing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Stonegate Crossing is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonegate Crossing
  • Suntrails
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Suntrails is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suntrails
  • Suntree
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Suntree is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suntree
  • Sunview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Sunview is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunview
  • Woodside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Woodside is located in Maricopa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside

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

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

  • Phoenix, which is the Seat of Maricopa County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sonora to Phoenix, with an average speed<5> 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 five to six hours.
  • Phoenix, which is the State Capital of Arizona, lies 18 miles [29 km] to the west northwest (WNW). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,963 miles [3,159.1 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,446 miles [11,983.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,211 miles [13,214.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,146 miles [9,891 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

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 Sonora, 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' (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- Sonora) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Sonora 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.
<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 Sonora 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 Sonora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3353, Longitude: -111.7896       In this case, the coordinates for Sonora have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 330.918 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 329.631 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.022 degrees.