Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in O'Brien, we use the following websites to find information relevant to O'Brien and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for O'Brien
- 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 O'Brien:
- 40.809871, -122.325051
- 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 O'Brien
- 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 Shasta County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Shasta County
- Since O'Brien is near Trinity County and also Siskiyou County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Trinity County
- eBird sighting report for Siskiyou 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
Communities Also Named O'Brien ...
We found twelve communities that share the name O'Brien.
Within California, the name O'Brien is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, ten are located in the United States and four are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Kent 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 Michigan community of O'Brien [Kent County].
- Ontonagon 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 Michigan community of O'Brien [Ontonagon County].
- Minnesota
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This O'Brien lies 3,230 miles [5,198.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the O'Brien that is located in Shasta County.
- Ontario
- This O'Brien lies 1,881 miles [3,027.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the O'Brien that is located in Shasta County.
- Oregon
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near O'Brien ...
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.
- Antlers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antlers
- Antlers is located in Shasta County
- Bonita ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Bully Hill ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bully Hill
- Bully Hill is located in Shasta County
- Copper City ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Copper City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper City
- Copper City is located in Shasta County
- Elizabethtown ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elizabethtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
- Elizabethtown is located in Shasta County
- Lakehead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakehead
- Lakehead is located in Shasta County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakehead <5>
- Lakeshore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshore
- Lakeshore is located in Shasta County
- Mabel ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Mountain Gate
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Gate
- Mountain Gate is located in Shasta County
- Former names for Mountain Gate:
- Bass
- Fish's Station
- Sugarloaf
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarloaf
- Sugarloaf is located in Shasta County
- Tunnel Inn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunnel Inn have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel Inn
- Tunnel Inn is located in Shasta County
How Far From O'Brien 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 O'Brien to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in O'Brien and extending to:
- Redding, which is the Seat of Shasta County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from O'Brien to Redding, with an average speed<7> 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 four to five hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 160 miles [257.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,377 miles [3,825.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 135 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,216 miles [11,613 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,981 miles [12,844.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,057 miles [9,747.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for O'Brien. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Shasta County: www.co.shasta.ca.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- O'Brien) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in O'Brien. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8099, Longitude: -122.3251 |
| <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 O'Brien 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 O'Brien, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 O'Brien to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.417 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.556 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.08 degrees. |