Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ben Hur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ben Hur and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ben Hur
- 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 Ben Hur:
- 37.351609, -119.957668
- 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 Ben Hur
- 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 Mariposa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mariposa County
- Since Ben Hur is near Madera County and also Merced County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Madera County
- eBird sighting report for Merced 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 Ben Hur ...
We found four communities that share the name Ben Hur.
Within California, the name Ben Hur is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ben Hur ...
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.
- Bootjack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootjack
- Bootjack is located in Mariposa County
- Coarsegold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coarsegold
- Coarsegold is located in Madera County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coarsegold <2>
- Elliott Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliott Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott Corner
- Elliott Corner is located in Mariposa County
- Grub Gulch ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grub Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grub Gulch
- Grub Gulch is located in Madera County
- Hillside ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Indian Gulch ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Gulch
- Indian Gulch is located in Mariposa County
- Mormon Bar ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mormon Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Bar
- Mormon Bar is located in Mariposa County
- Raymond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Madera County
- Willow Glen ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen
- Willow Glen is located in Madera County
- Yosemite Lakes Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Lakes Park
- Yosemite Lakes Park is located in Madera County
- Yosemite Lakes Park has also been known as:
- Yosemite Lakes
How Far From Ben Hur 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 Ben Hur to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ben Hur and extending to:
- Mariposa, which is the Seat of Mariposa County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Ben Hur to Mariposa, 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 118 miles [189.9 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 2,312 miles [3,720.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,394 miles [11,899.5 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 8,162 miles [13,135.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,190 miles [9,961.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ben Hur. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mariposa County: www.mariposacounty.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ben Hur) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ben Hur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3516, Longitude: -119.9577 In this case, the coordinates for Ben Hur have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Ben Hur 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 338.09 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.588 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.665 degrees. |