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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 Ballena, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ballena and the surrounding area.
- 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 Ballena:
- 33.065323, -116.746689
- 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 Ballena
- 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 San Diego County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for San Diego County
- Since Ballena is near Riverside County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Riverside 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 Ballena
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ballena ...
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.
- Alpine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Blossom Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blossom Valley is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom Valley
- Fernbrook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fernbrook is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernbrook
- Four Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Four Corners is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Julian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rock Haven ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rock Haven is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Haven
- Scissors Crossing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Scissors Crossing is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scissors Crossing
- Shady Dell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Dell is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Dell
- Stallion Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stallion Oaks is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallion Oaks
- Stonewall ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stonewall is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
- Whispering Pines
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Whispering Pines is located in San Diego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
How Far From Ballena 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 Ballena to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ballena and extending to:
- San Diego, which is the Seat of San Diego County, lies 33 miles [53.1 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ballena to San Diego, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 463 miles [745.1 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 27 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,237 miles [3,600.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 88 days and walking would take 128 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,593 miles [12,219.7 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 8,362 miles [13,457.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,332 miles [10,190.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
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> | 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- Ballena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Ballena 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 Ballena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0653, Longitude: -116.7467 In this case, the coordinates for Ballena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 334.856 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.389 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.758 degrees. |
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