Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orleans, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orleans and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Orleans
- 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 Orleans:
- 41.789831, -69.989740
- 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 Orleans
- 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 Barnstable County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Barnstable County
- Since Orleans is near Plymouth County and also Nantucket County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Plymouth County
- eBird sighting report for Nantucket 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 Orleans ...
We found nineteen communities that share the name Orleans.
Within Massachusetts, the name Orleans is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these nineteen communities, eighteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Appanoose County
- This Orleans is located in Appanoose County and lies 1,175 miles [1,891 km]<1> to the west of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Appanoose County community of Orleans.
- Dickinson County
- This Orleans is located in Dickinson County and lies 1,275 miles [2,051.9 km] to the west northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickinson County community of Orleans.
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Orleans lies 375 miles [603.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Orleans that is located in Barnstable County.
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Vermont
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orleans ...
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.
- Campground Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campground Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campground Landing
- Campground Landing is located in Barnstable County
- Dennis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Dennis Port
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dennis Port have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
- Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
- First Encounter Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for First Encounter Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Encounter Beach
- First Encounter Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Fresh Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fresh Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Brook
- Fresh Brook is located in Barnstable County
- Mayo Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayo Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo Beach
- Mayo Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Pleasant Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Pleasant Lake is located in Barnstable County
- Rock Harbor
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Harbor
- Rock Harbor is located in Barnstable County
- Shooters Island
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shooters Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shooters Island
- Shooters Island is located in Barnstable County
- Sunken Meadow Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunken Meadow Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunken Meadow Beach
- Sunken Meadow Beach is located in Barnstable County
How Far From Orleans 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 Orleans to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orleans and extending to:
- Barnstable, which is the Seat of Barnstable County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Orleans to Barnstable, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 67 miles [107.8 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 421 miles [677.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,480 miles [8,819.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,182 miles [9,949 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,060 miles [6,533.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Orleans: www.town.orleans.ma.us/
The official website for Barnstable County: www.barnstablecounty.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orleans) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orleans. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7898, Longitude: -69.9897 In this case, the coordinates for Orleans have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Orleans, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Orleans 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. |
| <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 Orleans 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 303.427 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.858 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.391 degrees. |