RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Crocker Highlands.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Crocker Highlands, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Crocker Highlands 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 Crocker Highlands:
    • 37.813333, -122.225833<1>
    • 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 Crocker Highlands
  • 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 Alameda County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alameda County
    • Since Crocker Highlands is near Contra Costa County and also San Francisco County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Contra Costa County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Francisco 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 Crocker Highlands

Curious and Interesting Names Near Crocker Highlands ...

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.

  • Canyon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Chinatown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Chinatown is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinatown
  • Fruitvale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Fruitvale is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
  • Grand Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Grand Lake is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
  • Havenscourt
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Havenscourt is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenscourt
  • Maxwell Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Maxwell Park is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Park
  • Rockridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockridge is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockridge
  • Seminary Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Seminary Park is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
  • Trestle Glen
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Trestle Glen is also located in Alameda County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trestle Glen

How Far From Crocker Highlands 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 included the distance from a community such as Crocker Highlands to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Oakland, which is the Seat of Alameda County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<3> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Crocker Highlands to Sacramento, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,422 miles [3,897.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 138 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,409 miles [11,923.6 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 8,175 miles [13,156.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,230 miles [10,026.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>GPS Coordinates for Crocker Highlands:
     Decimal: 37.81333, -122.225833
     DDMMSS: 37° 48' 47", -122° 13' 32"
<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- Crocker Highlands) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Crocker Highlands 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 Crocker Highlands. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8133, Longitude: -122.2258       In this case, the coordinates for Crocker Highlands have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.044 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.966 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.047 degrees.