RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for California







Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Westminster, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Westminster and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Westminster:
    • 33.751973, -117.998537
    • 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 Westminster
  • 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 Westminster ...

We found twenty communities that share the name Westminster.

Within California, the name Westminster is unique.

Beyond California, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twenty communities, eighteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Jefferson County
      • This Westminster is located in Jefferson County and lies 829 miles [1,334.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Westminster.
    • Connecticut
      • Windham County
      • This Westminster is located in Windham County and lies 2,539 miles [4,086.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windham County community of Westminster.
    • Delaware
      • New Castle County
      • This Westminster is located in New Castle County and lies 2,357 miles [3,793.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Castle County community of Westminster.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Westminster is located in Hillsborough County and lies 2,147 miles [3,455.3 km]<1> to the east of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Westminster.
    • Illinois
      • Shelby 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 Illinois community of Westminster [Shelby County].
    • Kansas
      • Reno 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 Westminster [Reno County].
    • Louisiana
      • East Baton Rouge Parish
      • This Westminster is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 1,586 miles [2,552.4 km]<1> to the east of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Westminster.
    • Maryland
      • Carroll County
      • This Westminster is located in Carroll County and lies 2,285 miles [3,677.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Westminster.
    • Massachusetts
      • Worcester County
      • This Westminster is located in Worcester County and lies 2,542 miles [4,091 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of Westminster.
    • Michigan
      • Grand Traverse 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 Michigan community of Westminster [Grand Traverse County].
    • North Carolina
      • Rutherford County
      • This Westminster is located in Rutherford County and lies 2,044 miles [3,289.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Westminster.
    • Ohio
      • Allen County
      • This Westminster is located in Allen County and lies 1,917 miles [3,085.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allen County community of Westminster.
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Westminster.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Erie County
      • This Westminster is located in Erie County and lies 2,121 miles [3,413.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Westminster.
      • Luzerne County
      • This Westminster is located in Luzerne County and lies 2,346 miles [3,775.5 km] to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Luzerne County community of Westminster.
    • Quebec
      • This Westminster lies 2,449 miles [3,941.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
    • South Carolina
      • Oconee County
      • This Westminster is located in Oconee County and lies 1,984 miles [3,192.9 km]<1> to the east of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconee County community of Westminster.
    • Texas
      • Brazoria County
      • This Westminster is located in Brazoria County and lies 1,362 miles [2,191.9 km]<1> to the east of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazoria County community of Westminster.
      • Collin County
      • This Westminster is located in Collin County and lies 1,237 miles [1,990.8 km] to the east of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collin County community of Westminster.
    • Vermont
      • Windham County
      • This Westminster is located in Windham County and lies 2,513 miles [4,044.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Westminster that is located in Orange County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windham County community of Westminster.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Westminster ...

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.

  • Barber City
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barber City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber City
    • Barber City is located in Orange County
  • Cypress
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Fountain Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Garden Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Green Lantern Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lantern Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lantern Village
    • Green Lantern Village is located in Orange County
  • Leisure World
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leisure World have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure World
    • Leisure World is located in Orange County
  • Liberty Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Park
    • Liberty Park is located in Orange County
  • Nutwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nutwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
    • Nutwood is located in Orange County
  • Ocean View
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean View
    • Ocean View is located in Orange County
  • Sugar ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar
    • Sugar is located in Orange County
  • Sunset Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Surfside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

How Far From Westminster 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 Westminster to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Westminster and extending to:

  • Santa Ana, which is the Seat of Orange County, lies just to the East.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 385 miles [619.6 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Westminster to Sacramento, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 22 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 15 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,286 miles [3,679 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 130 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,580 miles [12,198.8 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 8,349 miles [13,436.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,334 miles [10,193.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>

The official website for Westminster: www.ci.westminster.ca.us/

The official website for Orange County: www.oc.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' (or 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- Westminster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westminster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7520, Longitude: -117.9985    
<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 Westminster, 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Westminster 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 Westminster 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 335.993 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 335.822 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.485 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024