Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sonora, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sonora and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sonora
- 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 Sonora:
- 37.982955, -120.382158
- 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 Sonora
- 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 Tuolumne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tuolumne County
- Since Sonora is near Calaveras County and also Mariposa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Calaveras County
- eBird sighting report for Mariposa 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 Sonora ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Sonora.
Within California, the name Sonora is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Maricopa County
- This Sonora is located in Maricopa County and lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Sonora that is located in Tuolumne County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Sonora.
- Pinal County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arizona community of Sonora [Pinal County].
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Harper County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Harper County].
- Lyon County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Lyon County].
- Nemaha County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Nemaha County].
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New York
- North Dakota
- Nova Scotia
- This Sonora lies 2,996 miles [4,821.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Tuolumne County.
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Arizona
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sonora ...
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.
- Heavenly Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heavenly Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heavenly Hills
- Heavenly Hills is located in Tuolumne County
- Jamestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Jamestown is located in Tuolumne County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jamestown <5>
- Martinez
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Mono Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mono Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mono Village
- Mono Village is located in Tuolumne County
- Peaceful Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Valley
- Peaceful Valley is located in Tuolumne County
- Peppermint Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peppermint Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peppermint Creek
- Peppermint Creek is located in Tuolumne County
- Quail Hollow
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quail Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
- Quail Hollow is located in Tuolumne County
- Quartz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Rawhide
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawhide
- Rawhide is located in Tuolumne County
- Rolling Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Rolling Hills is located in Tuolumne County
- Scenic Brook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scenic Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Brook
- Scenic Brook is located in Tuolumne County
- Scenic View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scenic View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic View
- Scenic View is located in Tuolumne County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Squabbletown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squabbletown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squabbletown
- Squabbletown is located in Tuolumne County
- Standard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard
- Standard is located in Tuolumne County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standard <5>
- Stent
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stent
- Stent is located in Tuolumne County
- Woods Crossing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woods Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Crossing
- Woods Crossing is located in Tuolumne County
- Yankee Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Hill
- Yankee Hill is located in Tuolumne County
- Squabbletown
How Far From Sonora 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 Sonora to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sonora and extending to:
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 72 miles [115.9 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Sonora to Sacramento, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 4 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,322 miles [3,736.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,362 miles [11,848 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,130 miles [13,084 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,166 miles [9,923.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Sonora: www.sonoraca.com/
The official website for Tuolumne County: www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov
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- Sonora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sonora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9830, Longitude: -120.3822 |
| <2> | 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 Sonora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Sonora 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. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Sonora to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.515 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.135 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.919 degrees. |