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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Fresno, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fresno 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 Fresno:
    • 36.786865, -119.763437
    • 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 Fresno
  • 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 Fresno is near Madera County and also Tulare County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Madera County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tulare 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 Fresno

Communities Also Named Fresno ...

We found seven communities that are also named Fresno.

Within California, the name Fresno is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Franklin County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Fresno [Franklin County].
      • Lincoln County
      • This Fresno is located in Lincoln County and lies 1,585 miles [2,550.8 km]<2> to the east of the Fresno that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Fresno.
    • Montana
      • Hill County
      • This Fresno is located in Hill County and lies 951 miles [1,530.5 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Fresno that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hill County community of Fresno.
    • Nevada
      • Nye County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Nye County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nye County community of Fresno.
    • Ohio
      • Coshocton County
      • This Fresno is located in Coshocton County and lies 2,051 miles [3,300.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Fresno that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coshocton County community of Fresno.
    • Texas
      • Collingsworth County
      • This Fresno is located in Collingsworth County and lies 1,105 miles [1,778.3 km]<2> to the east of the Fresno that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collingsworth County community of Fresno.
      • Fort Bend County
      • This Fresno is located in Fort Bend County and lies 1,486 miles [2,391.5 km] to the east southeast of the Fresno that is located in Fresno County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fort Bend County community of Fresno.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Fresno ...

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.

  • Butler ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Butler is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Cecile
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cecile is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecile
  • Fig Garden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Fig Garden is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fig Garden
  • Fort Camp ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Fort Camp is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Camp
  • Goldleaf
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Goldleaf is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldleaf
  • Gordon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Highway City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Highway City is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway City
  • Lone Star
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Melvin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Melvin is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
  • Muscatel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Riverview ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverview is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Sunnyside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunnyside is located in Fresno County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside

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

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

  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Fresno to Sacramento, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,313 miles [3,722.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,426 miles [11,951 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 8,195 miles [13,188.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,216 miles [10,003.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Fresno, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Fresno) 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 Fresno 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 Fresno. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7869, Longitude: -119.7634    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.862 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.28 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.549 degrees.