Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Westford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Westford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Westford
- 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 Westford:
- 42.581107, -71.439493
- 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 Westford
- 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 Westford is near Worcester County and also Hillsborough County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- eBird sighting report for Hillsborough 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 Westford ...
We found eight communities that share the name Westford.
Within Massachusetts, the name Westford is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Connecticut
- Minnesota
- New York
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Westford lies 509 miles [819.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Westford that is located in Middlesex County.
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Vermont
Curious and Interesting Names Near Westford ...
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.
- Forge Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Village
- Forge Village is located in Middlesex County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Forge Village
- From Westford to Forge Village
- Frederick Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederick Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick Corner
- Frederick Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Graniteville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
- Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
- Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Littleton Common
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton Common
- Littleton Common is located in Middlesex County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Littleton Common
- From Westford to Littleton Common
- Middlesex Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlesex Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
- Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County
- Shaker Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
- Swan Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swan Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Corner
- Swan Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Willows
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
How Far From Westford to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Westford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Westford and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Westford to Cambridge, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,511 miles [8,869.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,220 miles [10,010.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,096 miles [6,591.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Westford: www.westford-ma.gov/
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 from Point A (ie- Westford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5811, Longitude: -71.4395 |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Westford 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> | 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 Westford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Westford 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 304.171 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.828 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.629 degrees. |