Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Atwater, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atwater and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Atwater
- 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 Atwater:
- 37.353121, -120.607739
- 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 Atwater
- 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 Merced County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Merced County
- Since Atwater is near Stanislaus County and also Mariposa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Stanislaus County
- eBird sighting report for Mariposa 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 Atwater ...
We found nine communities that share the name Atwater.
There is one other community in California which is also named Atwater.
Beyond California, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, eight are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In California ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- Saskatchewan
- This Atwater lies 1,293 miles [2,080.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Atwater that is located in Merced County.
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Atwater ...
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.
- Amsterdam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Amsterdam is located in Merced County
- Arena
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Castle Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Gardens
- Castle Gardens is located in Merced County
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Hatch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest) - Hills Ferry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Ferry
- Hills Ferry is located in Stanislaus County
- Irwin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west) - Plainsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsburg
- Plainsburg is located in Merced County
How Far From Atwater 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 city such as Atwater to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Atwater and extending to:
- Merced, which is the Seat of Merced County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Atwater to Sacramento, with an average speed<4>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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,346 miles [3,775.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 134 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,407 miles [11,920.4 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 8,175 miles [13,156.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,209 miles [9,992.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Atwater: www.atwater.org/
The official website for Merced County: www.co.merced.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- Atwater) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atwater. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3531, Longitude: -120.6077 |
| <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 Atwater 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> | 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. |
| <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 Atwater 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 338.633 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.242 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.058 degrees. |