Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Spence, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spence and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Spence
- 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 Spence:
- 36.612739, -121.566609
- 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 Spence
- 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 Monterey County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monterey County
- Since Spence is near San Benito County and also Santa Clara County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for San Benito County
- eBird sighting report for Santa Clara 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 Spence ...
We found eight communities that share the name Spence.
Within California, the name Spence is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Ontario
- This Spence lies 2,240 miles [3,604.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Spence that is located in Monterey County.
- Texas
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Spence ...
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.
- Castroville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castroville
- Castroville is located in Monterey County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Castroville <4>
- Cooper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Creekside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Dean
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - James Meadows
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Meadows
- James Meadows is located in Monterey County
- Marina
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marina
- Marina is located in Monterey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,836 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marina <4>
- Natividad
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Prunedale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prunedale
- Prunedale is located in Monterey County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prunedale <4>
- Spreckels
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spreckels
- Spreckels is located in Monterey County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spreckels <4>
- Spreckels Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spreckels Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spreckels Junction
- Spreckels Junction is located in Monterey County
- Vineyard ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Spence 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 Spence to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Spence and extending to:
- Salinas, which is the Seat of Monterey County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 135 miles [217.3 km]<2> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Spence to Sacramento, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,411 miles [3,880.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 137 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,474 miles [12,028.2 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 8,241 miles [13,262.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,281 miles [10,108.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Spence. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Monterey County: www.co.monterey.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 Spence, 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 from Point A (ie- Spence) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spence. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6127, Longitude: -121.5666 In this case, the coordinates for Spence have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Spence 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Spence 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 339.354 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.073 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.637 degrees. |