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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative Quarter for Colorado







Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Spruce:
    • 39.156658, -104.878314
    • 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 Spruce
  • 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 Spruce ...

We found fourteen communities that share the name Spruce.

Within Colorado, the name Spruce is unique.

Beyond Colorado, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, thirteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Placer County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Spruce [Placer County].
    • Manitoba
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Michigan
      • Alcona County
      • This Spruce is located in Alcona County and lies 1,162 miles [1,870.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alcona County community of Spruce.
      • Baraga 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 Spruce [Baraga County].
      • Dickinson County
      • This Spruce is located in Dickinson County and lies 986 miles [1,586.8 km] to the northeast of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Spruce.
    • Minnesota
      • Saint Louis County
      • This Spruce is located in Saint Louis County and lies 840 miles [1,351.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Spruce.
    • Missouri
      • Bates County
      • This Spruce is located in Bates County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<2> to the east of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bates County community of Spruce.
    • Nevada
      • Elko County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Spruce [Elko County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Clinton County
      • This Spruce is located in Clinton County and lies 1,419 miles [2,283.7 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clinton County community of Spruce.
      • Huntingdon 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 Pennsylvania community of Spruce [Huntingdon County].
      • Indiana County
      • This Spruce is located in Indiana County and lies 1,376 miles [2,214.5 km] to the east northeast of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Indiana County community of Spruce.
    • West Virginia
      • Pocahontas County
      • This Spruce is located in Pocahontas County and lies 1,337 miles [2,151.7 km]<2> to the east of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pocahontas County community of Spruce.
      • Upshur 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 West Virginia community of Spruce [Upshur County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Oconto County
      • This Spruce is located in Oconto County and lies 943 miles [1,517.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Spruce that is located in Douglas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconto County community of Spruce.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Spruce ...

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.

  • Black Forest
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Forest
    • Black Forest is located in El Paso County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Black Forest <5>
  • Castle Rock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Founders Village
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Founders Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Founders Village
    • Founders Village is located in Douglas County
  • Glen Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Park
    • Glen Park is located in El Paso County
  • Green Mountain Falls
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Greenland is located in Douglas County
  • Larkspur
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larkspur have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkspur
    • Larkspur is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Larkspur <5>
  • Monument
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Pikeview
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pikeview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeview
    • Pikeview is located in El Paso County
  • Pine Crest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
    • Pine Crest is located in El Paso County
  • Woodland Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
    • Woodland Park is located in Teller County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,151 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodland Park <5>

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

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

  • Castle Rock, which is the Seat of Douglas County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Spruce to Castle Rock, 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.
  • Denver, which is the State Capital of Colorado, lies 41 miles [66 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,487 miles [2,393.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,903 miles [11,109.3 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 7,665 miles [12,335.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,591 miles [8,997.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Spruce. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Douglas County: www.douglas.co.us/

The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.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 Spruce, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spruce) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spruce. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1567, Longitude: -104.8783       In this case, the coordinates for Spruce 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 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 Spruce 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 Spruce 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 326.392 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.818 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 317.974 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024