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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in West Auburn, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Auburn 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 West Auburn:
    • 42.178041, -71.872100
    • 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 West Auburn
  • 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 West Auburn is near Windham County and also Providence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Windham County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Providence 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 West Auburn

Communities Also Named West Auburn ...

We found two communities that are also named West Auburn.

Within Massachusetts, the name West Auburn is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maine
      • Androscoggin County
      • This West Auburn is located in Androscoggin County and lies 158 miles [254.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the West Auburn that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Androscoggin County community of West Auburn.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Susquehanna County
      • This West Auburn is located in Susquehanna County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the west of the West Auburn that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Susquehanna County community of West Auburn.

Curious and Interesting Names Near West Auburn ...

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.

  • Bramanville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Bramanville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramanville
  • Cherry Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
  • Dodge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Dodge is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
  • Greenville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
  • Heard Street
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Heard Street is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard Street
  • Island
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Island is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island
  • Jamesville ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jamesville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
  • Marions Camp
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Marions Camp is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marions Camp
  • Pondville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pondville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondville
  • Texas
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Texas is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas
  • University Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • University Park is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
  • Woodland Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodland Park is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park

How Far From West Auburn 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 West Auburn to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 43 miles [69.2 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from West Auburn to Boston, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full 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 353 miles [568.1 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 20 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,545 miles [8,923.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,253 miles [10,063.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,129 miles [6,645 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- West Auburn) 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 West Auburn 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 West Auburn. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1780, Longitude: -71.8721       In this case, the coordinates for West Auburn have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.489 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.118 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.028 degrees.