RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Los Angeles County >> Mount Wilson >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Mount Wilson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Wilson 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 Mount Wilson:
    • 34.225157, -118.064339
    • 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 Mount Wilson
  • 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 Los Angeles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Los Angeles County
    • Since Mount Wilson is near Orange County and also San Bernardino County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Orange County
    • 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 Mount Wilson

Communities Also Named Mount Wilson ...

We found two communities that are also named Mount Wilson.

Within California, the name Mount Wilson is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Mount Wilson is located in Baltimore County and lies 2,291 miles [3,687 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Mount Wilson that is located in Los Angeles County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Mount Wilson.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Lebanon County
      • This Mount Wilson is located in Lebanon County and lies 2,300 miles [3,701.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Mount Wilson that is located in Los Angeles County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lebanon County community of Mount Wilson.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mount Wilson ...

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
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Butler is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Eagle Rock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Five Points
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Five Points is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Hidden Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hidden Springs is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Springs
  • Highway Highlands
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Highway Highlands is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Highlands
  • Mayflower Village
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mayflower Village is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayflower Village
  • Raymond Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Raymond Hill is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond Hill
  • Singing Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Singing Springs is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singing Springs
  • Stoneman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Stoneman is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneman
  • Temple City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Los Angeles, which is the Seat of Los Angeles County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Mount Wilson to Los Angeles, with an average speed<3> 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 355 miles [571.3 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,278 miles [3,666.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 130 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,552 miles [12,153.8 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 8,321 miles [13,391.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,310 miles [10,155 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mount Wilson) 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 Mount Wilson 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 Mount Wilson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2252, Longitude: -118.0643    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 336.115 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.003 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.53 degrees.