Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Columbia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Columbia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Columbia
- 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 Columbia:
- 41.691210, -72.307303
- 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 Columbia
- 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 Tolland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tolland County
- Since Columbia is near New London County and also Windham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for New London County
- eBird sighting report for Windham 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 Columbia ...
We found one communities that share the name Columbia.
Within Connecticut, the name Columbia is unique.
Beyond Connecticut, there is another community also named Columbia in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Columbia ...
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.
- Bolton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Bolton is located in Tolland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bolton <2>
- Coventry
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
- Coventry is located in Tolland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coventry <2>
- Coventry Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Lake
- Coventry Lake is located in Tolland County
- Eagleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleville
- Eagleville is located in Tolland County
- Four Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Hartford County
- Gay City ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Hebron
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Hebron is located in Tolland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hebron <2>
- Hope Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley
- Hope Valley is located in Tolland County
- Liberty Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Liberty Hill is located in New London County
- Village Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Hill
- Village Hill is located in New London County
- Williams Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Crossing
- Williams Crossing is located in New London County
How Far From Columbia to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Columbia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Columbia and extending to:
- Hartford, which is the State Capital of Connecticut, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Columbia to Hartford, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 314 miles [505.3 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,583 miles [8,985 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,289 miles [10,121.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,166 miles [6,704.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Columbia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Connecticut: https://portal.ct.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6912, Longitude: -72.3073 In this case, the coordinates for Columbia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Columbia to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.816 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.405 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.462 degrees. |