Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Drake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Drake and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Drake
- 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 Drake:
- 34.470544, -120.303765
- 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 Drake
- 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 Santa Barbara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Barbara 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
Communities Also Named Drake ...
We found 21 communities that share the name Drake.
Within California, the name Drake is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Mohave County
- This Drake is located in Mohave County and lies 352 miles [566.5 km]<1> to the east of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mohave County community of Drake.
- Yavapai County
- This Drake is located in Yavapai County and lies 451 miles [725.8 km] to the east of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yavapai County community of Drake.
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Jackson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Drake [Jackson County].
- Ness County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Drake [Ness County].
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Gasconade County
- This Drake is located in Gasconade County and lies 1,618 miles [2,603.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gasconade County community of Drake.
- Saint Louis County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Drake [Saint Louis County].
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Defiance County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Drake [Defiance County].
- Muskingum County
- This Drake is located in Muskingum County and lies 2,123 miles [3,416.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Drake.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Drake lies 1,413 miles [2,274 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- South Carolina
- Abbeville County
- This Drake is located in Abbeville County and lies 2,148 miles [3,456.9 km]<1> to the east of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Abbeville County community of Drake.
- Marlboro County
- This Drake is located in Marlboro County and lies 2,297 miles [3,696.7 km] to the east of the Drake that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marlboro County community of Drake.
- Tennessee
- Arizona
Curious and Interesting Names Near Drake ...
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.
- Acorn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest) - Gato
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Honda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest) - Isla Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isla Vista
- Isla Vista is located in Santa Barbara County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isla Vista <4>
- Jesus Maria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jesus Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesus Maria
- Jesus Maria is located in Santa Barbara County
- Junction Camp
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Camp
- Junction Camp is located in Santa Barbara County
- Mission Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
- Mission Hills is located in Santa Barbara County
- Naples ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
- Surf
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Drake 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 Drake to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Drake and extending to:
- Santa Barbara, which is the Seat of Santa Barbara County, lies 34 miles [54.7 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Drake to Santa Barbara, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 291 miles [468.3 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,392 miles [3,849.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 94 days and walking would take 136 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,586 miles [12,208.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,355 miles [13,446.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,367 miles [10,246.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Drake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Santa Barbara County: www.countyofsb.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 from Point A (ie- Drake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Drake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4705, Longitude: -120.3038 In this case, the coordinates for Drake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Drake could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Drake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.02 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.338 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.846 degrees. |