RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

The Commemorative Quarter for California





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Mesa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mesa 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 Mesa:
    • 37.413962, -118.5451
    • 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 Mesa
  • 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 Mesa ...

We found fourteen communities that share the name Mesa.

There is one other community in California which is also named Mesa.

Beyond California, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In California ...
    • San Bernardino County
      • This Mesa is located in San Bernardino County and lies 220 miles [354.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of Mesa.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Maricopa County
      • This Mesa is located in Maricopa County and lies 468 miles [753.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Mesa.
    • Arkansas
      • Prairie County
      • This Mesa is located in Prairie County and lies 1,514 miles [2,436.5 km]<1> to the east of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Prairie County community of Mesa.
    • Colorado
      • Adams 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 Colorado community of Mesa [Adams County].
      • El Paso 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 Colorado community of Mesa [El Paso County].
      • Mesa County
      • This Mesa is located in Mesa County and lies 576 miles [927 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mesa County community of Mesa.
      • Pueblo 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 Colorado community of Mesa [Pueblo County].
    • Idaho
      • Adams County
      • This Mesa is located in Adams County and lies 509 miles [819.2 km]<1> to the north of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Mesa.
    • Mississippi
      • Walthall County
      • This Mesa is located in Walthall County and lies 1,667 miles [2,682.8 km]<1> to the east of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walthall County community of Mesa.
    • New Mexico
      • Chaves County
      • This Mesa is located in Chaves County and lies 811 miles [1,305.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chaves County community of Mesa.
      • Roosevelt County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Roosevelt County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roosevelt County community of Mesa.
    • Texas
      • El Paso County
      • Although located in El Paso County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the El Paso County community of Mesa.
      • Randall 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 Texas community of Mesa [Randall County].
    • Washington
      • Franklin County
      • This Mesa is located in Franklin County and lies 633 miles [1,018.7 km]<1> to the north of the Mesa that is located in Inyo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Mesa.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mesa ...

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 Mesa 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 Mesa to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Independence, which is the Seat of Inyo County, lies 46 miles [74 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mesa to Independence, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 179 miles [288.1 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,236 miles [3,598.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 88 days and walking would take 127 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,361 miles [11,846.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,129 miles [13,082.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,143 miles [9,886.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mesa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Inyo County: www.inyocounty.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mesa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mesa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4140, Longitude: -118.5451    
<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 Mesa 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>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 Mesa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>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.
<7>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 Mesa to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 336.926 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.19 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.818 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025