Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Waltham, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Waltham and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Waltham
- 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 Waltham:
- 42.378014, -71.235679
- 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 Waltham
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Waltham is near Suffolk County and also Norfolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Suffolk County
- eBird sighting report for Norfolk 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 Waltham ...
We found six communities that share the name Waltham.
Within Massachusetts, the name Waltham is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Quebec
- This Waltham lies 378 miles [608.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Waltham that is located in Middlesex County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Waltham ...
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.
- Camp Mary Day
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Mary Day have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Mary Day
- Camp Mary Day is located in Middlesex County
- Camp Ted
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Cedarwood
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Chestnut Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Countryside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
- Countryside is located in Middlesex County
- Grantville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grantville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Grantville is located in Norfolk County
- Lakeview
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Piety Corner
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piety Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piety Corner
- Piety Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Reservoir
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Riverview
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Shaker Glen
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Glen
- Shaker Glen is located in Middlesex County
- Silver Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
- Silver Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Strawberry Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Hill
- Strawberry Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Tower Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Hill
- Tower Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Reservoir
How Far From Waltham 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 city such as Waltham to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Waltham and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies just to the East.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Waltham to Boston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 387 miles [622.8 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,510 miles [8,867.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,218 miles [10,006.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,094 miles [6,588.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Waltham: www.city.waltham.ma.us/
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' (or 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- Waltham) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waltham. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3780, Longitude: -71.2357 |
| <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 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 Waltham 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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Waltham to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.078 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.69 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.641 degrees. |