Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alum Rock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alum Rock and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alum Rock
- 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 Alum Rock:
- 37.366963, -121.826725
- 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 Alum Rock
- 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 Santa Clara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Clara County
- Since Alum Rock is near Alameda County and also Santa Cruz County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alameda County
- eBird sighting report for Santa Cruz 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 Alum Rock ...
We found one communities that share the name Alum Rock.
Within California, the name Alum Rock is unique.
Beyond California, there is another community also named Alum Rock in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alum Rock ...
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.
- Chinatown ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - College Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
- College Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Edenvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Evergreen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Fruitdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
- Fruitdale is located in Santa Clara County
- Lick
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Meridian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Robertsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robertsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsville
- Robertsville is located in Santa Clara County
- Seven Trees
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Trees
- Seven Trees is located in Santa Clara County
- Willow Glen
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen
- Willow Glen is located in Santa Clara County
How Far From Alum Rock to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Alum Rock to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Alum Rock and extending to:
- San Jose, which is the Seat of Santa Clara County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 85 miles [136.8 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Alum Rock to Sacramento, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,410 miles [3,878.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 137 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,430 miles [11,957.4 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 8,197 miles [13,191.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,244 miles [10,048.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alum Rock. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Santa Clara County: www.sccgov.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alum Rock) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alum Rock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3670, Longitude: -121.8267 |
| <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> | 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 Alum Rock to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.659 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.48 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.80 degrees. |