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 Chinatown:
37.794053, -122.407917
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.
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 Francisco County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
We found eleven communities that share the name Chinatown.
There are four communities within California that are also named Chinatown.
Beyond California, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Located In California ...
Alameda County
This Chinatown is located in Alameda County and lies 7 miles [11.3 km]<1> to the east of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alameda County community of Chinatown.
Amador County
This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Chinatown [Amador County].
Mono County
This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Chinatown [Mono County].
Santa Clara County
This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Chinatown [Santa Clara County].
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Hawaii
This Chinatown lies 2,394 miles [3,852.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
Illinois
Cook County
This Chinatown is located in Cook County and lies 1,852 miles [2,980.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Chinatown.
Madison County
This Chinatown is located in Madison County and lies 1,751 miles [2,818 km] to the east northeast of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Chinatown.
Massachusetts
Suffolk County
Although located in Suffolk County, we don't know the location within the county.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suffolk County community of Chinatown.
Montana
Beaverhead County
This Chinatown is located in Beaverhead County and lies 683 miles [1,099.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaverhead County community of Chinatown.
Nevada
Humboldt County
This Chinatown is located in Humboldt County and lies 309 miles [497.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humboldt County community of Chinatown.
New York
New York County
This Chinatown is located in New York County and lies 2,563 miles [4,124.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Chinatown that is located in San Francisco County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the New York County community of Chinatown.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Chinatown ...
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.
Diamond Heights (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Chinatown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Chinatown and extending to:
Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 73 miles [117.5 km]<1> to the northeast (NE). If you could drive a straight line from Chinatown 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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,432 miles [3,913.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 139 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,413 miles [11,930.1 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 8,180 miles [13,164.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,236 miles [10,035.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Chinatown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chinatown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7941, Longitude: -122.4079
<2>
We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Chinatown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Chinatown 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 340.196 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.148 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.159 degrees.