RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for California







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in California Pines, we use the following websites to find information relevant to California Pines 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 California Pines:
    • 41.409892, -120.679127
    • 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 California Pines
  • 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 Modoc County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • eBird sighting report for Modoc County
    • Since California Pines is near Lassen County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • eBird sighting report for Lassen 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near California Pines ...

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.

  • Christensen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christensen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christensen
    • Christensen is located in Modoc County
  • Dibble Place
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dibble Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dibble Place
    • Dibble Place is located in Modoc County
  • Harper
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
    • Harper is located in Modoc County
  • Juniper
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Juniper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper
    • Juniper is located in Modoc County
  • Lakeview Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Junction
    • Lakeview Junction is located in Modoc County
  • Likely
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sage Hen
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sage Hen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sage Hen
    • Sage Hen is located in Lassen County
  • Scotty Place
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotty Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotty Place
    • Scotty Place is located in Lassen County
  • Surprise Station
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surprise Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise Station
    • Surprise Station is located in Modoc County

How Far From California Pines 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 community such as California Pines to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in California Pines and extending to:

  • Alturas, which is the Seat of Modoc County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 199 miles [320.3 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from California Pines to Sacramento, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,285 miles [3,677.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 130 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,147 miles [11,502 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 7,914 miles [12,736.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,976 miles [9,617.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for California Pines. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- California Pines) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in California Pines. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4099, Longitude: -120.6791       In this case, the coordinates for California Pines have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 California Pines 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 339.096 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.018 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.034 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025