RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Connecticut >> Fairfield County >> New Canaan >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in New Canaan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to New Canaan 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 New Canaan:
    • 41.147005, -73.492227
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on New Canaan
  • 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 Fairfield County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfield County
    • Since New Canaan is near Westchester County and also Suffolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Westchester County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Suffolk 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for New Canaan

Communities Also Named New Canaan ...

We found five communities that are also named New Canaan.

Within Connecticut, the name New Canaan is unique.

Beyond Connecticut, we know of five communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, .

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Cullman County
      • This New Canaan is located in Cullman County and lies 852 miles [1,371.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the New Canaan that is located in Fairfield County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cullman County community of New Canaan.
    • Mississippi
      • Benton County
      • This New Canaan is located in Benton County and lies 949 miles [1,527.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the New Canaan that is located in Fairfield County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of New Canaan.
    • New Brunswick
      • This New Canaan lies 527 miles [848.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the New Canaan that is located in Fairfield County.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This New Canaan lies 552 miles [888.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the New Canaan that is located in Fairfield County.
    • Ontario
      • This New Canaan lies 492 miles [791.8 km]<1> to the west of the New Canaan that is located in Fairfield County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near New Canaan ...

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.

  • Belltown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Belltown is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
  • Cannondale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cannondale is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannondale
  • Daniels Mill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Daniels Mill is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels Mill
  • Gilbert Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilbert Corners is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert Corners
  • High Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • High Ridge is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Ridge
  • Horseshoe Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Horseshoe Hill is located in Westchester County (NY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Hill
  • Hunting Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Hunting Ridge is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Ridge
  • Long Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Long Ridge is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ridge
  • Richards Corner
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Richards Corner is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richards Corner
  • Riverbank
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Silvermine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Silvermine is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvermine
  • Turn of River
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Turn of River is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turn of River
  • Vista
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Hartford, which is the State Capital of Connecticut, lies 60 miles [96.6 km]<1> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from New Canaan to Hartford, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 243 miles [391.1 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,654 miles [9,099.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,361 miles [10,237 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,237 miles [6,818.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- New Canaan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 New Canaan to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in New Canaan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1470, Longitude: -73.4922    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.589 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.189 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.242 degrees.