RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Escalon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Escalon 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 Escalon:
    • 37.796713, -120.996733
    • 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 Escalon
  • 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 San Joaquin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Joaquin County
    • Since Escalon is near Stanislaus County and also Calaveras County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stanislaus County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Calaveras 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 Escalon

Curious and Interesting Names Near Escalon ...

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.

  • Aurora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Aurora is located in Stanislaus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
  • Claus
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Claus is located in Stanislaus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claus
  • Collegeville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Collegeville is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
  • Empire
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Eugene
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Eugene is located in Stanislaus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene
  • Five Corners
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Manteca
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Riverbank
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Summer Home
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Summer Home is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Home
  • Valley Home
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Valley Home is located in Stanislaus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Home
  • Van Allen
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Van Allen is located in San Joaquin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Allen

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Escalon and extending to:

  • Stockton, which is the Seat of San Joaquin County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Escalon to Stockton, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 60 miles [96.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,358 miles [3,794.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 134 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,386 miles [11,886.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,154 miles [13,122.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,195 miles [9,969.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Escalon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Escalon 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 Escalon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7967, Longitude: -120.9967    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.009 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.718 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.293 degrees.