Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Torrance, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Torrance and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Torrance
- 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 Torrance:
- 33.837703, -118.353770
- 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 Torrance
- 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 Los Angeles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Los Angeles County
- Since Torrance is near Orange County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Orange 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 Torrance ...
We found seven communities that share the name Torrance.
Within California, the name Torrance is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of Torrance, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ontario
- This Torrance lies 2,183 miles [3,513.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Torrance that is located in Los Angeles County.
- Pennsylvania
- Communities Beyond North America ...
- Scotland
- Distance: 5,128 miles [8,252.7 km]<2> to the north northeast
- Scotland
Curious and Interesting Names Near Torrance ...
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.
- Abalone Cove ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abalone Cove
- Abalone Cove is located in Los Angeles County
- Carson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Carson is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,860 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson <4>
- Delta
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Harbor City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
- Harbor City is located in Los Angeles County
- Harbor Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Hills
- Harbor Hills is located in Los Angeles County
- Ironsides
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Keystone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Lawndale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
- Lawndale is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,935 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawndale <4>
- Portuguese Bend
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portuguese Bend
- Portuguese Bend is located in Los Angeles County
- Rolling Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Rolling Hills is located in Los Angeles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,817 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rolling Hills <4>
- Strawberry Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Park have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Park
- Strawberry Park is located in Los Angeles County
How Far From Torrance 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 city such as Torrance to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Torrance and extending to:
- Los Angeles, which is the Seat of Los Angeles County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Torrance to Los Angeles, with an average speed<6> 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 371 miles [597.1 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,303 miles [3,706.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 131 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,583 miles [12,203.7 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 8,352 miles [13,441.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,341 miles [10,204.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Torrance: www.ci.torrance.ca.us/
The official website for Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Torrance 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Torrance) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Torrance. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8377, Longitude: -118.3538 |
| <3> | 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 Torrance, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Torrance 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 336.30 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.203 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.691 degrees. |