RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Worcester County >> Sunderland >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sunderland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sunderland 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 Sunderland:
    • 42.244538, -71.771737
    • 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 Sunderland
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Worcester County
    • Since Sunderland is near Middlesex County and also Windham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Windham 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 Sunderland

Communities Also Named Sunderland ...

We found four communities that are also named Sunderland.

There is one other community in Massachusetts that is also named Sunderland.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of three communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Massachusetts ...
    • Franklin County
      • This Sunderland is located in Franklin County and lies 43 miles [69.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sunderland that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Sunderland.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Calvert County
      • This Sunderland is located in Calvert County and lies 353 miles [568.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Sunderland that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calvert County community of Sunderland.
    • Ontario
      • This Sunderland lies 392 miles [630.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sunderland that is located in Worcester County.
    • Vermont
      • Bennington County
      • This Sunderland is located in Bennington County and lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sunderland that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bennington County community of Sunderland.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sunderland ...

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.

  • Dorothy Pond
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Dorothy Pond is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy Pond
  • Fairlawn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairlawn is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
  • Heard Street
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Heard Street is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard Street
  • Island
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Island is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island
  • June Street
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • June Street is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for June Street
  • Lakeview
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lakeview is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Maplewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Maplewood is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
  • Pinecrest
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Pinecrest is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinecrest
  • Rice Square
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Rice Square is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Square
  • Union Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Union Hill is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • University Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • University Park is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
  • Woodland Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodland Park is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park

How Far From Sunderland to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sunderland to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sunderland and extending to:

  • Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 37 miles [59.5 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Sunderland to Boston, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 359 miles [577.8 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,538 miles [8,912.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,246 miles [10,052 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,122 miles [6,633.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sunderland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2445, Longitude: -71.7717       In this case, the coordinates for Sunderland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.419 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.051 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.95 degrees.