RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Contra Costa County >> Acalanes >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

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.

  • Weather ...
  • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Acalanes
  • 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 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)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
    • Christie is located in Contra Costa County
  • Four Corners
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Four Corners is located in Contra Costa County
  • Grand Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
    • Grand Lake is located in Alameda County
  • Martinez
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez
    • Martinez is located in Contra Costa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,027 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinez <1>
  • Maxwell Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Park
    • Maxwell Park is located in Alameda County
  • Mountain View
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
    • Mountain View is located in Contra Costa County
  • Pleasant Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockridge
    • Rockridge is located in Alameda County
  • Seminary Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
    • Seminary Park is located in Alameda County
  • Sparkle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sparkle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparkle
    • Sparkle is located in Contra Costa County
  • Thousand Oaks
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thousand Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thousand Oaks
    • Thousand Oaks is located in Alameda County
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Trestle Glen
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trestle Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trestle Glen
      • Trestle Glen is located in Alameda County
    • University Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
      • University Village is located in Alameda County
    • Vine Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vine Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vine Hill
      • Vine Hill is located in Contra Costa County
    • Walnut Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Walnut Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Heights
      • Walnut Heights is located in Contra Costa County

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<3> 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]<3> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Acalanes to Sacramento, with an average speed<4> 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<5> 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).<6>
  • 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).<7>
  • 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).<8>

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>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.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Acalanes) to Point B.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).
<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 Acalanes 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 339.984 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.897 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.996 degrees.