Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rolla, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rolla and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rolla
- 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 Rolla:
- 39.869152, -104.891365
- 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 Rolla
- 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 Adams County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Adams County
- Since Rolla is near Denver County and also Broomfield County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Denver County
- eBird sighting report for Broomfield 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 Rolla ...
We found eight communities that share the name Rolla.
Within Colorado, the name Rolla is unique.
Beyond Colorado, 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 ...
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Rolla lies 1,306 miles [2,101.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Rolla that is located in Adams County.
- Kansas
- Missouri
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rolla ...
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.
- Commerce City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commerce City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce City
- Commerce City is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59,317 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Commerce City <5>
- Cotton Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Creek
- Cotton Creek is located in Adams County
- Cozy Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cozy Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cozy Corner
- Cozy Corner is located in Adams County
- Derby
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Far Horizon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Far Horizon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Far Horizon
- Far Horizon is located in Jefferson County
- Federal Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Federal Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Heights
- Federal Heights is located in Adams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,598 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Federal Heights <5>
- Harris Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Park
- Harris Park is located in Adams County
- Hidden Creek Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Creek Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Creek Park
- Hidden Creek Park is located in Adams County
- Hidden Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Lake
- Hidden Lake is located in Adams County
- Holiday Hills Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Hills Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills Village
- Holiday Hills Village is located in Adams County
- Irondale
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Little Texas ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Little Texas. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Texas
- Little Texas is located in Adams County
- Continue List (8 more) ...
- Quail Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quail Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hill
- Quail Hill is located in Adams County
- Sable
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Skyline Vista
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyline Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Vista
- Skyline Vista is located in Adams County
- Sunset Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Ridge
- Sunset Ridge is located in Adams County
- Todd Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Todd Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Creek
- Todd Creek is located in Adams County
- Twin Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Twin Lakes is located in Adams County
- Utah Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utah Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah Junction
- Utah Junction is located in Adams County
- Wandering View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wandering View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wandering View
- Wandering View is located in Adams County
- Quail Hill
How Far From Rolla 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 community such as Rolla to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rolla and extending to:
- Brighton, which is the Seat of Adams County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rolla to Brighton, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Denver, which is the State Capital of Colorado, lies 10 miles [16.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take a little over three hours and walking would take four to five hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,482 miles [2,385 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,862 miles [11,043.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,625 miles [12,271.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,555 miles [8,939.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rolla. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Adams County: www.co.adams.co.us/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rolla) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rolla. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8692, Longitude: -104.8914 In this case, the coordinates for Rolla have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rolla, 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 Rolla 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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 Rolla to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 326.469 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.984 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 317.903 degrees. |