Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Palo Alto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Palo Alto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Palo Alto
- 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 Palo Alto:
- 37.442160, -122.143214
- 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 Palo Alto
- 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 Clara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Clara County
- Since Palo Alto is near San Mateo County and also Alameda County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for San Mateo County
- eBird sighting report for Alameda 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 Palo Alto ...
We found ten communities that share the name Palo Alto.
Within California, the name Palo Alto is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Bedford County
- This Palo Alto is located in Bedford County and lies 2,324 miles [3,740.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Palo Alto that is located in Santa Clara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bedford County community of Palo Alto.
- Schuylkill County
- This Palo Alto is located in Schuylkill County and lies 2,446 miles [3,936.5 km] to the east northeast of the Palo Alto that is located in Santa Clara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuylkill County community of Palo Alto.
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Palo Alto ...
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.
- Castro City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
- Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
- Crescent Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Park
- Crescent Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Evergreen Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
- Evergreen Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Fair Oaks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Green Acres
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Santa Clara County
- Greenmeadow
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenmeadow have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmeadow
- Greenmeadow is located in Santa Clara County
- Meadow Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Park
- Meadow Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Neal
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Park Forest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Forest
- Park Forest is located in San Mateo County
- Professorville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Professorville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Professorville
- Professorville is located in Santa Clara County
- Ravenswood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravenswood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- Ravenswood is located in San Mateo County
- University Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- University Heights is located in San Mateo County
- Vintage Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Oaks
- Vintage Oaks is located in San Mateo County
How Far From Palo Alto to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Palo Alto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Palo Alto and extending to:
- San Jose, which is the Seat of Santa Clara County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Palo Alto to San Jose, with an average speed<5> 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 86 miles [138.4 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,425 miles [3,902.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 138 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,431 miles [11,959 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 8,198 miles [13,193.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,249 miles [10,056.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Palo Alto: www.cityofpaloalto.org/
The official website for Santa Clara County: www.sccgov.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Palo Alto 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. |
| <2> | 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- Palo Alto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Palo Alto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4422, Longitude: -122.1432 |
| <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 Palo Alto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Palo Alto 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 339.935 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.816 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.994 degrees. |