Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Santa Cruz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Cruz and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Cruz
- 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 Santa Cruz:
- 36.979683, -122.021380
- 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 Santa Cruz
- 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 Cruz County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Cruz County
- Since Santa Cruz is near Santa Clara County and also Monterey County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Clara County
- eBird sighting report for Monterey 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 Santa Cruz ...
We found seven communities that share the name Santa Cruz.
Within California, the name Santa Cruz is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Mohave County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Mohave County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mohave County community of Santa Cruz.
- Pima County
- This Santa Cruz is located in Pima County and lies 668 miles [1,075 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Santa Cruz that is located in Santa Cruz County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pima County community of Santa Cruz.
- Pinal County
- This Santa Cruz is located in Pinal County and lies 613 miles [986.5 km] to the east southeast of the Santa Cruz that is located in Santa Cruz County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pinal County community of Santa Cruz.
- New Mexico
- Santa Fe County
- This Santa Cruz is located in Santa Fe County and lies 888 miles [1,429.1 km]<2> to the east of the Santa Cruz that is located in Santa Cruz County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Fe County community of Santa Cruz.
- Ontario
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Santa Cruz.
- Texas
- Duval County
- This Santa Cruz is located in Duval County and lies 1,531 miles [2,463.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Santa Cruz that is located in Santa Cruz County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of Santa Cruz.
- Starr County
- This Santa Cruz is located in Starr County and lies 1,545 miles [2,486.4 km] to the east southeast of the Santa Cruz that is located in Santa Cruz County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Starr County community of Santa Cruz.
- Arizona
Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Cruz ...
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.
- Magnetic Spring ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnetic Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnetic Spring
- Magnetic Spring is located in Santa Cruz County
- Majors
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Mission Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Springs
- Mission Springs is located in Santa Cruz County
- Opal Cliffs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opal Cliffs
- Opal Cliffs is located in Santa Cruz County
- Paradise Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Park
- Paradise Park is located in Santa Cruz County
- Petroleum ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Seabright
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Seacliff ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Twin Lakes
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Twin Lakes is located in Santa Cruz County
How Far From Santa Cruz 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 city such as Santa Cruz to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Santa Cruz and extending to:
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 114 miles [183.5 km]<2> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Santa Cruz to Sacramento, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,428 miles [3,907.5 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,459 miles [12,004.1 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 8,226 miles [13,238.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,273 miles [10,095.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Santa Cruz: www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/
The official website for Santa Cruz County: www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Santa Cruz, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Santa Cruz) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Cruz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9797, Longitude: -122.0214 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Santa Cruz 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 339.78 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.607 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.917 degrees. |