Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Santa Maria, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Maria and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Maria
- 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 Maria:
- 34.953136, -120.435914
- 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 Maria
- 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
- Since Santa Maria is near San Luis Obispo County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for San Luis Obispo 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 Maria ...
We found five communities that share the name Santa Maria.
There is one other community in California which is also named Santa Maria.
Beyond California, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In California ...
- Los Angeles County
- This Santa Maria is located in Los Angeles County and lies 120 miles [193.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Santa Maria.
- Los Angeles County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Maricopa County
- This Santa Maria is located in Maricopa County and lies 480 miles [772.5 km]<1> to the east of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Santa Maria.
- Colorado
- Park County
- This Santa Maria is located in Park County and lies 870 miles [1,400.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Park County community of Santa Maria.
- Florida
- Santa Rosa County
- This Santa Maria is located in Santa Rosa County and lies 1,957 miles [3,149.5 km]<1> to the east of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Rosa County community of Santa Maria.
- Texas
- Cameron County
- This Santa Maria is located in Cameron County and lies 1,472 miles [2,369 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cameron County community of Santa Maria.
- Arizona
Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Maria ...
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.
- Bragur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Fairoaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest) - Grover Beach
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover Beach
- Grover Beach is located in San Luis Obispo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,325 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grover Beach <3>
- Guadalupe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
- Guadalupe is located in Santa Barbara County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,140 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guadalupe <3>
- Gum
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Halcyon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Jesus Maria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jesus Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesus Maria
- Jesus Maria is located in Santa Barbara County
- Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest) - Rosemary
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
How Far From Santa Maria 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 Maria to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Santa Maria and extending to:
- Santa Barbara, which is the Seat of Santa Barbara County, lies 55 miles [88.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 257 miles [413.6 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 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,388 miles [3,843.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 94 days and walking would take 136 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,558 miles [12,163.4 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 8,326 miles [13,399.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,343 miles [10,208.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Santa Maria: www.ci.santa-maria.ca.us/
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Santa Maria) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Maria. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.9531, Longitude: -120.4359 |
| <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 Santa Maria 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 338.196 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.579 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.934 degrees. |