Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Santa Maria, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Maria and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Maria
- 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 Santa Maria:
- 30.949627, -86.835238
- 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 Santa Maria
- 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 Santa Rosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Rosa County
- Since Santa Maria is near Okaloosa County and also Escambia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Okaloosa County
- eBird sighting report for Escambia 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 Santa Maria ...
We found five communities that share the name Santa Maria.
Within Florida, the name Santa Maria is unique.
Beyond Florida, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Maricopa County
- This Santa Maria is located in Maricopa County and lies 1,486 miles [2,391.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Rosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Santa Maria.
- California
- Los Angeles County
- This Santa Maria is located in Los Angeles County and lies 1,853 miles [2,982.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Rosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Santa Maria.
- Santa Barbara County
- This Santa Maria is located in Santa Barbara County and lies 1,957 miles [3,149.5 km] to the west northwest of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Rosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Barbara County community of Santa Maria.
- Colorado
- Park County
- This Santa Maria is located in Park County and lies 1,208 miles [1,944.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Rosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Park County community of Santa Maria.
- Texas
- Cameron County
- This Santa Maria is located in Cameron County and lies 747 miles [1,202.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Santa Maria that is located in Santa Rosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cameron County community of Santa Maria.
- Arizona
Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Maria ...
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.
- Beaver Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek is located in Okaloosa County
- Damascus
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Dixie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast) - Good Hope
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Kellys Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kellys Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Mill
- Kellys Mill is located in Okaloosa County
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Riverview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest) - Rock Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rock Creek is located in Okaloosa County
- Rock Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest) - Sellersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sellersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellersville
- Sellersville is located in Santa Rosa County
- Wing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
How Far From Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Santa Maria and extending to:
- Milton, which is the Seat of Santa Rosa County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Santa Maria to Milton, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 155 miles [249.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 779 miles [1,253.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,675 miles [10,742.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,373 miles [11,865.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,253 miles [8,453.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Santa Maria. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Santa Rosa County: www.co.santa-rosa.fl.us/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Santa Maria) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Maria. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.9496, Longitude: -86.8352 In this case, the coordinates for Santa Maria have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Santa Maria to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.508 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.739 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.824 degrees. |