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The Commemorative
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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 Orella, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orella 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 Orella:
    • 34.462491, -120.050976
    • 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 Orella
  • 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 Santa Barbara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • eBird sighting report for Santa Barbara 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 Orella ...

We found one communities that share the name Orella.

Within California, the name Orella is unique.

Beyond California, there is another community also named Orella in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Nebraska
      • Sioux County
      • This Orella is located in Sioux County and lies 1,062 miles [1,709.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Orella that is located in Santa Barbara County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sioux County community of Orella.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Orella ...

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.

  • Gato
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gato have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gato
    • Gato is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Hope Ranch
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Ranch
    • Hope Ranch is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Isla Vista
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Junction Camp
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Camp
    • Junction Camp is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Mission
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission
    • Mission is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Mission Canyon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Canyon
    • Mission Canyon is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Mission Hills
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
    • Mission Hills is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Naples ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
  • Summerland
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<4> community of Orella once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Orella and extending to:

  • Santa Barbara, which is the Seat of Santa Barbara County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Orella to Santa Barbara, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 295 miles [474.8 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,379 miles [3,828.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 136 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,581 miles [12,200.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,350 miles [13,438 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,359 miles [10,233.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>

The official website for Santa Barbara County: www.countyofsb.org/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Orella) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orella. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4625, Longitude: -120.0510       In this case, the coordinates for Orella have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 Orella, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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.
<6>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 Orella to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.806 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.077 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.696 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025