RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Lake County >> Astatula >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Astatula, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Astatula 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 Astatula:
    • 28.710030, -81.733235
    • 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 Astatula
  • 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 Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lake County
    • Since Astatula is near Orange County and also Sumter County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Orange County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sumter 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 Astatula

Curious and Interesting Names Near Astatula ...

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.

  • Clay Island
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Clay Island is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Island
  • Dublin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Dublin is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
  • Eldorado
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Eldorado is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
  • Ferndale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lake Jem
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Lane Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lane Park is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane Park
  • Minneola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Mohawk
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Mohawk is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
  • Mount Homer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Mount Homer is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Homer
  • Orange Blossom
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Orange Blossom is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Blossom
  • Pumpkin Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Pumpkin Center is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
  • Silver Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Lake is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Astatula and extending to:

  • Tavares, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies just to the North.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 194 miles [312.2 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Astatula to Tallahassee, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 753 miles [1,211.8 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,551 miles [10,542.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,221 miles [11,621.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,119 miles [8,238.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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- Astatula) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Astatula 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 Astatula. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.7100, Longitude: -81.7332    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.499 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.95 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.498 degrees.