Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Costa Mesa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Costa Mesa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Costa Mesa
- 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 Costa Mesa:
- 33.641235, -117.918659
- 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 Costa Mesa
- 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 Orange County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- Since Costa Mesa is near Los Angeles County and also San Bernardino County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Los Angeles County
- eBird sighting report for San Bernardino 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 Costa Mesa ...
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.
- Crystal Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Cove
- Crystal Cove is located in Orange County
- Dyer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Emerald Bay
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Bay
- Emerald Bay is located in Orange County
- Fountain Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Valley
- Fountain Valley is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55,405 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fountain Valley <2>
- Garden Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
- Garden Grove is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 171,366 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garden Grove <2>
- Green Lantern Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lantern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lantern Village
- Green Lantern Village is located in Orange County
- Liberty Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Park
- Liberty Park is located in Orange County
- Ocean View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean View
- Ocean View is located in Orange County
- Sugar ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Costa Mesa 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 city such as Costa Mesa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Costa Mesa and extending to:
- Santa Ana, which is the Seat of Orange County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 394 miles [634.1 km]<3> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Costa Mesa to Sacramento, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 23 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,285 miles [3,677.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 7,585 miles [12,206.9 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 8,354 miles [13,444.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,338 miles [10,200 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Costa Mesa: www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/
The official website for Orange County: www.oc.ca.gov/
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' (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- Costa Mesa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Costa Mesa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6412, Longitude: -117.9187 |
| <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 Costa Mesa 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 335.91 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 335.714 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.437 degrees. |