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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 Merced Falls, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Merced Falls 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 Merced Falls:
- 37.523724, -120.330009
- 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 Merced Falls
- 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 Merced County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Merced County
- Since Merced Falls is near Mariposa County and also Stanislaus County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Mariposa County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Stanislaus 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 Merced Falls
Curious and Interesting Names Near Merced Falls ...
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.
- Amsterdam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Castle Gardens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Castle Gardens is located in Merced County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Gardens
- Colorado ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cuba is located in Merced County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Dogtown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Granite Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Granite Springs is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Springs
- Indian Gulch ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Gulch is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Gulch
- Split Rock Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Split Rock Ferry is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Ferry
How Far From Merced Falls 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 Merced Falls to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Merced Falls and extending to:
- Merced, which is the Seat of Merced County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Merced Falls to Merced, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 96 miles [154.5 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,328 miles [3,746.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,391 miles [11,894.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,159 miles [13,130.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,191 miles [9,963.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Merced Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Merced Falls 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 Merced Falls. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5237, Longitude: -120.3300 |
| <4> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.42 degrees. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.995 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.889 degrees. |
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