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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Acalanes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Acalanes 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 Acalanes:
- 37.898814, -122.143576
- 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 Acalanes
- 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 Contra Costa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Contra Costa County
- Since Acalanes is near Alameda County and also Solano County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Alameda County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Solano 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 Acalanes
Curious and Interesting Names Near Acalanes ...
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.
- Canyon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Christie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Christie is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Four Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Four Corners is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Grand Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Lake is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
- Martinez
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Maxwell Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Maxwell Park is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Park
- Mountain View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mountain View is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Pleasant Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rockridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockridge is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockridge
- Seminary Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Seminary Park is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
- Sparkle
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sparkle is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparkle
- Thousand Oaks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Thousand Oaks is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousand Oaks
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Trestle Glen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Trestle Glen is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trestle Glen
- University Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- University Village is located in Alameda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- Vine Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Vine Hill is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vine Hill
- Walnut Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Walnut Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Walnut Heights is located in Contra Costa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Heights
How Far From Acalanes 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 Acalanes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Acalanes and extending to:
- Martinez, which is the Seat of Contra Costa County, lies just to the North.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 59 miles [95 km]<2> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Acalanes to Sacramento, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,416 miles [3,888.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 138 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,402 miles [11,912.4 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 8,168 miles [13,145.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,222 miles [10,013.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Acalanes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Acalanes 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 Acalanes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8988, Longitude: -122.1436 In this case, the coordinates for Acalanes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.984 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.897 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.996 degrees. |
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