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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Johannesburg, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Johannesburg and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Johannesburg:
    • 35.371207, -117.635376
    • 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 Johannesburg
  • 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 Kern County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kern County
    • Since Johannesburg is near San Bernardino County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Bernardino 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 Johannesburg

Communities Also Named Johannesburg ...

We found two communities that are also named Johannesburg.

Within California, the name Johannesburg is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Michigan
      • Otsego County
      • This Johannesburg is located in Otsego County and lies 1,856 miles [2,986.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Johannesburg that is located in Kern County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otsego County community of Johannesburg.
    • Wisconsin
      • Saint Croix County
      • This Johannesburg is located in Saint Croix County and lies 1,474 miles [2,372.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Johannesburg that is located in Kern County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Croix County community of Johannesburg.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Johannesburg ...

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.

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

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

  • Bakersfield, which is the Seat of Kern County, lies 79 miles [127.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could drive a straight line from Johannesburg to Bakersfield, with an average speed<3>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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 306 miles [492.5 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,229 miles [3,587.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 87 days and walking would take 127 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,470 miles [12,021.8 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 8,238 miles [13,257.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,231 miles [10,027.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'

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- Johannesburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Johannesburg 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 Johannesburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3712, Longitude: -117.6354    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 335.92 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 335.843 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.29 degrees.