Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Niantic, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Niantic and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Niantic
- 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 Niantic:
- 41.325223, -72.192726
- 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 Niantic
- 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 New London County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for New London County
- Since Niantic is near Suffolk County and also Middlesex County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Suffolk County
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex 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 Niantic ...
We found four communities that share the name Niantic.
Within Connecticut, the name Niantic is unique.
Beyond Connecticut, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Missouri
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
Curious and Interesting Names Near Niantic ...
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.
- Crescent Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Beach
- Crescent Beach is located in New London County
- Crescent Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Park
- Crescent Park is located in New London County
- Flanders
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Giants Neck
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Giants Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giants Neck
- Giants Neck is located in New London County
- Golden Spur
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golden Spur have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Spur
- Golden Spur is located in New London County
- Graniteville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Graniteville is located in New London County
- Jordan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Millstone
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Pleasure Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasure Beach
- Pleasure Beach is located in New London County
- Sandy Point
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
- Sandy Point is located in New London County
- Seaside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Niantic 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 Niantic to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Niantic and extending to:
- Hartford, which is the State Capital of Connecticut, lies 39 miles [62.8 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Niantic to Hartford, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 305 miles [490.8 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,592 miles [8,999.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,297 miles [10,134 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,174 miles [6,717.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Niantic. 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- Niantic) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Niantic. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3252, Longitude: -72.1927 |
| <2> | 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 Niantic 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. |
| <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> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Niantic to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.795 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.322 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.589 degrees. |