Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Great Swamp, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Great Swamp and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Great Swamp
- 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 Great Swamp:
- 42.244535, -72.613423
- 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 Great Swamp
- 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 Hampshire County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hampshire County
- Since Great Swamp is near Hampden County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hampden County
- eBird sighting report for Franklin 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Great Swamp ...
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.
- Cayenne
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Chicopee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee
- Chicopee is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,825 people
- Cooks Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Corner
- Cooks Corner is located in Hampshire County
- Florence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Florence is located in Hampshire County
- Freeman Knoll
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeman Knoll have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Knoll
- Freeman Knoll is located in Hampden County
- Hockanum
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Laurel Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Laurel Park is located in Hampshire County
- Loudville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Moody Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moody Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody Corner
- Moody Corner is located in Hampshire County
- Mount Tom
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Mountain Park
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Mountain Park is located in Hampden County
- Plainville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Plainville is located in Hampden County
- Rock Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Valley
- Rock Valley is located in Hampden County
- Sandy Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hill
- Sandy Hill is located in Hampden County
How Far From Great Swamp 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 Great Swamp to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Great Swamp and extending to:
- Northampton, which is the Seat of Hampshire County, lies just to the North.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 79 miles [127.1 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Great Swamp to Boston, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 327 miles [526.3 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,574 miles [8,970.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,283 miles [10,111.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,159 miles [6,693.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Great Swamp. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- Great Swamp) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Great Swamp. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2445, Longitude: -72.6134 In this case, the coordinates for Great Swamp have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Great Swamp 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 304.926 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.621 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.329 degrees. |