RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Santa Cruz County >> Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley
  • 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 Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley:
    • 36.967596, -121.841414
    • 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 Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley
  • 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 Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley ...

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.

  • Day Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Freedom
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Highland ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Highland is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Leonard ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
    • Leonard is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Magnetic Spring ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnetic Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnetic Spring
    • Magnetic Spring is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Mountain Home
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Home have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
    • Mountain Home is located in Santa Clara County
  • Murphy Crossing
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Crossing
    • Murphy Crossing is located in Monterey County
  • Opal Cliffs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rob Roy Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rob Roy Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rob Roy Junction
    • Rob Roy Junction is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Seabright
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seabright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seabright
    • Seabright is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Seacliff ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seacliff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seacliff
    • Seacliff is located in Santa Cruz County
  • Twin Lakes
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)

How Far From Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley 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 Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley and extending to:

  • Santa Cruz, which is the Seat of Santa Cruz County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley to Santa Cruz, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 113 miles [181.9 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,419 miles [3,893 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving 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 7,456 miles [11,999.3 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 8,224 miles [13,235.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,268 miles [10,087.4 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9676, Longitude: -121.8414    
<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 Aptos Hills - Larkin Valley 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 339.627 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.421 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.807 degrees.