Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dana, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dana and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dana
- 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 Dana:
- 42.433170, -72.260315
- 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 Dana
- 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 Worcester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- Since Dana is near Franklin County and also Hampshire County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- eBird sighting report for Hampshire 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 Dana ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Dana.
Within Massachusetts, the name Dana is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Ingham County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Dana [Ingham County].
- Montmorency County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Dana [Montmorency County].
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Dana lies 723 miles [1,163.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Dana that is located in Worcester County.
- Saskatchewan
- This Dana lies 1,686 miles [2,713.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Dana that is located in Worcester County.
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dana ...
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.
- Baconville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baconville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baconville
- Baconville is located in Franklin County
- Dana Center
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dana Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana Center
- Dana Center is located in Worcester County
- Eaglesville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eaglesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaglesville
- Eaglesville is located in Worcester County
- Furnace
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Gilbertville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Greenwich ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Knights Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knights Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights Corner
- Knights Corner is located in Hampshire County
- Locks Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
- Locks Village is located in Franklin County
- Meads Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meads Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meads Corner
- Meads Corner is located in Hampshire County
- Orange
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Packardville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packardville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packardville
- Packardville is located in Hampshire County
- Pratt Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pratt Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Corner
- Pratt Corner is located in Franklin County
How Far From Dana 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 Dana to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Dana once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Dana and extending to:
- Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dana to Worcester, with an average speed<5> 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 just over a day.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 61 miles [98.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 349 miles [561.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,551 miles [8,933.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,261 miles [10,076.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,137 miles [6,657.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dana) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4332, Longitude: -72.2603 In this case, the coordinates for Dana have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Dana 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Dana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Dana 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 304.687 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.383 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.076 degrees. |