Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in The Forks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The Forks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for The Forks
- 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 The Forks:
- 39.191169, -123.207011
- 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 The Forks
- 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 Mendocino County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mendocino County
- Since The Forks is near Lake County and also Sonoma County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- eBird sighting report for Sonoma 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 The Forks ...
We found ten communities that share the name The Forks.
Within California, the name The Forks is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, eight are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- Maine
- New Brunswick
- This The Forks lies 2,902 miles [4,670.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the The Forks that is located in Mendocino County.
- 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 The Forks [Cattaraugus County].
- Erie County
- This The Forks is located in Erie County and lies 2,302 miles [3,704.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the The Forks that is located in Mendocino County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of The Forks.
- Ontario
- This The Forks lies 2,126 miles [3,421.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the The Forks that is located in Mendocino County.
- Pennsylvania
- Centre 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 The Forks [Centre County].
- Columbia 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 Pennsylvania community of The Forks [Columbia County].
- Washington
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near The Forks ...
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.
- Asylum
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Cooper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Fair Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest) - Hopland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopland
- Hopland is located in Mendocino County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopland <4>
- Howard Mill ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howard Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Mill
- Howard Mill is located in Lake County
- Potter Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Valley
- Potter Valley is located in Mendocino County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Potter Valley <4>
- Presswood
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Three Crossing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Crossing
- Three Crossing is located in Lake County
How Far From The Forks 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 The Forks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in The Forks and extending to:
- Ukiah, which is the Seat of Mendocino County, lies just to the South.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 101 miles [162.5 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from The Forks to Sacramento, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,448 miles [3,939.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 96 days and walking would take 139 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,337 miles [11,807.8 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 8,102 miles [13,038.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,177 miles [9,940.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for The Forks. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mendocino County: www.co.mendocino.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- The Forks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in The Forks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1912, Longitude: -123.2070 |
| <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 The Forks 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 The Forks 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 341.012 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.192 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.654 degrees. |