RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Fresno County >> Calwa >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Calwa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Calwa 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 Calwa:
    • 36.708974, -119.754710
    • 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 Calwa
  • 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 Fresno County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fresno County
    • Since Calwa is near Madera County and also Kings County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Madera County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kings 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 Calwa

Curious and Interesting Names Near Calwa ...

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.

  • Butler ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Butler is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Cecile
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cecile is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecile
  • Fig Garden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fig Garden is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fig Garden
  • Fort Camp ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Camp is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Camp
  • Fowler
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Goldleaf
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Goldleaf is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldleaf
  • Lone Star
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Melvin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Melvin is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
  • Oleander
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Oleander is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oleander
  • Sunnyside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunnyside is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
  • Wolf
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Wolf is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Calwa and extending to:

  • Fresno, which is the Seat of Fresno County, lies just to the North.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 160 miles [257.5 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Calwa to Sacramento, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,314 miles [3,724 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<4> 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).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,200 miles [13,196.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,221 miles [10,011.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Calwa) 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 Calwa 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 Calwa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7090, Longitude: -119.7547    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.846 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.256 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.544 degrees.