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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 Atherton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atherton 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 Atherton:
    • 37.462172, -122.200279
    • 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 Atherton
  • 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 Atherton ...

We found eight communities that share the name Atherton.

Within California, the name Atherton is unique.

Beyond California, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Vigo County
      • This Atherton is located in Vigo County and lies 1,875 miles [3,017.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Atherton that is located in San Mateo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vigo County community of Atherton.
    • Louisiana
      • East Carroll Parish
      • This Atherton is located in East Carroll Parish and lies 1,775 miles [2,856.6 km]<1> to the east of the Atherton that is located in San Mateo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Carroll Parish community of Atherton.
    • Massachusetts
      • Middlesex County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Massachusetts community of Atherton [Middlesex County].
    • Michigan
      • Huron County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Atherton [Huron County].
    • Missouri
      • Jackson County
      • This Atherton is located in Jackson County and lies 1,509 miles [2,428.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Atherton that is located in San Mateo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Atherton.
      • Saint Louis County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Atherton [Saint Louis County].
    • Ohio
      • Licking County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Atherton [Licking County].
    • Ontario
      • This Atherton lies 2,211 miles [3,558.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Atherton that is located in San Mateo County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Atherton ...

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.

  • Crescent Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Park
    • Crescent Park is located in Santa Clara County
  • Emerald Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake
    • Emerald Lake is located in San Mateo County
  • Emerald Lake Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
    • Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
  • Evergreen Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
    • Evergreen Park is located in Santa Clara County
  • Fair Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
    • Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
  • Farm Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farm Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Hills
    • Farm Hills is located in San Mateo County
  • Neal
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Neal have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
    • Neal is located in Santa Clara County
  • Park Forest
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Forest
    • Park Forest is located in San Mateo County
  • Professorville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Professorville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Professorville
    • Professorville is located in Santa Clara County
  • Ravenswood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenswood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
    • Ravenswood is located in San Mateo County
  • University Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
    • University Heights is located in San Mateo County
  • Vintage Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Oaks
    • Vintage Oaks is located in San Mateo County
  • Woodside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodside Glens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodside Glens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Glens
    • Woodside Glens is located in San Mateo County

How Far From Atherton 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 town such as Atherton to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Redwood City, which is the Seat of San Mateo County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Atherton to Sacramento, with an average speed<6>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 2,428 miles [3,907.5 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,431 miles [11,959 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,198 miles [13,193.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,250 miles [10,058.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>

The official website for Atherton: www.ci.atherton.ca.us/

The official website for San Mateo County: www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/

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 from Point A (ie- Atherton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atherton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4622, Longitude: -122.2003    
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Atherton could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Atherton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>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 Atherton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.985 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.877 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.03 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024