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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Elk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elk 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 Elk:
    • 36.750228, -119.492907
    • 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 Elk
  • 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 Elk is near Tulare County and also Madera County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tulare County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Madera 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 Elk

Communities Also Named Elk ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Elk.

There is one other community in California that is also named Elk.

Beyond California, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In California ...
    • Mendocino County
      • This Elk is located in Mendocino County and lies 282 miles [453.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mendocino County community of Elk.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Winston 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 Alabama community of Elk [Winston County].
    • Arkansas
      • Pike County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Elk [Pike County].
    • Indiana
      • Morgan County
      • This Elk is located in Morgan County and lies 1,796 miles [2,890.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Elk.
    • Kansas
      • Chase County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Chase County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chase County community of Elk.
    • Maryland
      • Cecil County
      • This Elk is located in Cecil County and lies 2,355 miles [3,790 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cecil County community of Elk.
    • Michigan
      • Genesee 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 Michigan community of Elk [Genesee County].
    • New Jersey
      • Gloucester 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 New Jersey community of Elk [Gloucester County].
    • New Mexico
      • Chaves County
      • This Elk is located in Chaves County and lies 843 miles [1,356.7 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chaves County community of Elk.
    • New York
      • Cattaraugus 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 New York community of Elk [Cattaraugus County].
    • Ohio
      • Noble County
      • This Elk is located in Noble County and lies 2,064 miles [3,321.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Noble County community of Elk.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Clarion 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 Pennsylvania community of Elk [Clarion County].
    • Texas
      • McLennan County
      • This Elk is located in McLennan County and lies 1,332 miles [2,143.6 km]<1> to the east of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLennan County community of Elk.
    • Washington
      • Spokane County
      • This Elk is located in Spokane County and lies 786 miles [1,264.9 km]<1> to the north of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spokane County community of Elk.
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • This Elk is located in Kanawha County and lies 2,059 miles [3,313.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Elk.
      • Tucker County
      • This Elk is located in Tucker County and lies 2,165 miles [3,484.2 km] to the east northeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tucker County community of Elk.
    • Wyoming
      • Teton County
      • This Elk is located in Teton County and lies 676 miles [1,087.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Elk that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Teton County community of Elk.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elk ...

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.

  • Avocado
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Avocado is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avocado
  • Big Bunch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Big Bunch is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bunch
  • Butler ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Butler is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Centerville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Centerville is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Fargo ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Fargo is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
  • Fort Camp ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Fort Camp is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Camp
  • Lone Star
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Lone Star is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
  • Miley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Miley is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miley
  • Riverbend
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Riverbend is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverbend
  • Sunnyside
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Sunnyside is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
  • Wolf
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolf is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Elk and extending to:

  • Fresno, which is the Seat of Fresno County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Elk to Fresno, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 166 miles [267.2 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,299 miles [3,699.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 131 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,423 miles [11,946.2 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 8,192 miles [13,183.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,210 miles [9,994 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Elk 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>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 Elk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Elk 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 Elk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7502, Longitude: -119.4929       In this case, the coordinates for Elk have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.633 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.001 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.387 degrees.