RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Hampden County >> Upper Hill >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Upper Hill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Upper Hill 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 Upper Hill:
    • 42.109816, -72.553699
    • 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 Upper Hill
  • 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 Hampden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hampden County
    • Since Upper Hill is near Hartford County and also Hampshire County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hartford County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Upper Hill

Communities Also Named Upper Hill ...

We found one communities that are also named Upper Hill.

Within Massachusetts, the name Upper Hill is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, there is another community also named Upper Hill in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Somerset County
      • This Upper Hill is located in Somerset County and lies 324 miles [521.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Upper Hill that is located in Hampden County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Upper Hill.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Upper Hill ...

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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Cayenne is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayenne
  • Chicopee
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chicopee is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,825 people
  • Forest Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Forest Park is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
  • Indian Orchard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Orchard is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Orchard
  • Liberty Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Liberty Heights is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Heights
  • Longmeadow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Longmeadow is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longmeadow
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,624 people
  • Pine Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Pine Point is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Point
  • Sandy Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandy Hill is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hill
  • Shaker Pines
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Shaker Pines is located in Hartford County (CT)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Pines

How Far From Upper Hill 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 Upper Hill to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Springfield, which is the Seat of Hampden County, lies just to the West.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 78 miles [125.5 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Upper Hill to Boston, with an average speed<2>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 323 miles [519.8 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,576 miles [8,973.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,285 miles [10,114.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,161 miles [6,696.5 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Upper Hill) 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 Upper Hill 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 Upper Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1098, Longitude: -72.5537       In this case, the coordinates for Upper Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.908 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.578 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.368 degrees.