Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gold Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gold Lake and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gold Lake
- 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 Gold Lake:
- 39.778219, -121.314408
- 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 Gold Lake
- 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 Butte County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Butte County
- Since Gold Lake is near Plumas County and also Yuba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Plumas County
- eBird sighting report for Yuba 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gold Lake ...
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.
- Big Bar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bar
- Big Bar is located in Butte County
- Brush ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Buckeye
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Cascade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - China Gulch ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Gulch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Gulch
- China Gulch is located in Plumas County
- David ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Flea Valley ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flea Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flea Valley
- Flea Valley is located in Butte County
- Hughes Place
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughes Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Place
- Hughes Place is located in Butte County
- Junction House
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction House have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction House
- Junction House is located in Butte County
- Merlin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Nelsons Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nelsons Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsons Crossing
- Nelsons Crossing is located in Butte County
- Poe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Rock Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rock Creek is located in Plumas County
How Far From Gold Lake 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 Gold Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Gold Lake once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Gold Lake and extending to:
- Oroville, which is the Seat of Butte County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<3> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Gold Lake to Oroville, with an average speed<4> 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 most of a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 83 miles [133.6 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,340 miles [3,765.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,264 miles [11,690.3 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 8,031 miles [12,924.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,089 miles [9,799.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Butte County: www.buttecounty.net/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 Gold Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Gold Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gold Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7782, Longitude: -121.3144 In this case, the coordinates for Gold Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Gold Lake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.477 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.384 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.469 degrees. |