Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Petaluma, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Petaluma and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Petaluma
- 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 Petaluma:
- 38.238046, -122.636052
- 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 Petaluma
- 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 Sonoma County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sonoma County
- Since Petaluma is near Marin County and also Napa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marin County
- eBird sighting report for Napa 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 Petaluma ...
We found one communities that share the name Petaluma.
Within California, the name Petaluma is unique.
Beyond California, there is another community also named Petaluma in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Petaluma ...
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.
- Cherry ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Crown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Four Corners
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Sonoma County
- Glen Ellen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Ellen
- Glen Ellen is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glen Ellen <3>
- Haystack
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Lakeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Liberty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Stony Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Stony Point is located in Sonoma County
- Two Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Vineburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineburg
- Vineburg is located in Sonoma County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vineburg <3>
How Far From Petaluma 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 Petaluma to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Petaluma and extending to:
- Santa Rosa, which is the Seat of Sonoma County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Petaluma to Santa Rosa, with an average speed<4> 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 66 miles [106.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,436 miles [3,920.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 96 days and walking would take 139 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,389 miles [11,891.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,155 miles [13,124.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,217 miles [10,005.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Petaluma: www.cityofpetaluma.net/
The official website for Sonoma County: www.sonoma-county.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 '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- Petaluma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Petaluma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2380, Longitude: -122.6361 |
| <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> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Petaluma to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.435 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.457 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.30 degrees. |