RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Nevada County >> Alta Sierra >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Alta Sierra, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alta Sierra 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 Alta Sierra:
    • 39.141562, -121.053837
    • 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 Alta Sierra
  • 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 Nevada County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nevada County
    • Since Alta Sierra is near Placer County and also Yuba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Placer County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Yuba 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 Alta Sierra

Communities Also Named Alta Sierra ...

We found one communities that are also named Alta Sierra.

There is one other community in California that is also named Alta Sierra.

Beyond California.

  • Communities Located In California ...
    • Kern County
      • This Alta Sierra is located in Kern County and lies 272 miles [437.7 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Alta Sierra that is located in Nevada County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Alta Sierra.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Alta Sierra ...

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.

  • Cape Horn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cape Horn is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Horn
  • Cedar Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cypress Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cypress Hill is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Hill
  • Dew Drop
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dew Drop is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew Drop
  • Eden Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eden Valley is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Valley
  • Forest Spring ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Forest Spring is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Spring
  • Grass Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Hills Flat
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hills Flat is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Flat
  • Illinoistown ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Illinoistown is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinoistown
  • Peardale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Peardale is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peardale
  • Pinecrest
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Pinecrest is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinecrest
  • Plumtree Crossing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Plumtree Crossing is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumtree Crossing
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Ridge View
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Ridge View is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge View
    • Shady Glen
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Shady Glen is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Glen
    • Sunrise Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Sunrise Heights is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Heights
    • Sunset View
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Sunset View is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset View
    • Union Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill

How Far From Alta Sierra 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 Alta Sierra to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Nevada City, which is the Seat of Nevada County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Alta Sierra to Sacramento, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,337 miles [3,761 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 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,301 miles [11,749.8 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 8,068 miles [12,984.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,118 miles [9,846 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Alta Sierra) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Alta Sierra 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 Alta Sierra. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1416, Longitude: -121.0538       In this case, the coordinates for Alta Sierra have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.197 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.016 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.318 degrees.