RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Washington County >> Blue Mountain >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Blue Mountain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Mountain 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 Blue Mountain:
    • 39.705928, -77.529434
    • 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 Blue Mountain
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Blue Mountain is near Franklin County and also Frederick County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick 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 Blue Mountain

Communities Also Named Blue Mountain ...

We found ten communities that are also named Blue Mountain.

There is one other community in Maryland that is also named Blue Mountain.

Beyond Maryland, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, eight are located in the United States and four are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Maryland ...
    • Frederick County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Frederick County and lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southeast of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Frederick County community of Blue Mountain.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Calhoun County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County and lies 619 miles [996.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calhoun County community of Blue Mountain.
    • Arkansas
      • Logan County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Logan County and lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Logan County community of Blue Mountain.
    • Colorado
      • Moffat County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Moffat County and lies 1,649 miles [2,653.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Moffat County community of Blue Mountain.
    • Mississippi
      • Tippah County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Tippah County and lies 720 miles [1,158.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tippah County community of Blue Mountain.
    • New York
      • Ulster County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Ulster County and lies 247 miles [397.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ulster County community of Blue Mountain.
    • Nova Scotia
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nova Scotia community of Blue Mountain.
    • Ontario
      • This Blue Mountain lies 343 miles [552 km]<1> to the north of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
    • Oregon
      • Umatilla County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Umatilla County and lies 2,090 miles [3,363.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Umatilla County community of Blue Mountain.
    • Virginia
      • Warren County
      • This Blue Mountain is located in Warren County and lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Blue Mountain that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Blue Mountain.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Blue Mountain ...

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.

  • Beartown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Beartown is located in Franklin County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
  • Browns Store ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Browns Store is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Store
  • Cascade
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cascade is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
  • Cavetown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cavetown is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
  • Flint
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Flint is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
  • Fountain Dale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fountain Dale is located in Adams County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Dale
  • Foxville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Foxville is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxville
  • Friends Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Friends Creek is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friends Creek
  • Gladhill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gladhill is located in Adams County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladhill
  • Greenvale Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
  • Havenwood Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Havenwood Hills is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenwood Hills
  • Highfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Highfield is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
    • Holiday Farms
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Holiday Farms is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Farms
    • Pondsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pondsville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondsville
    • Roadside
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Roadside is located in Franklin County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
    • Rocky Forge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Rocky Forge is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Forge
    • Tomstown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Tomstown is located in Franklin County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomstown

How Far From Blue Mountain 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 Blue Mountain to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Hagerstown, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Blue Mountain to Hagerstown, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 74 miles [119.1 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 61 miles [98.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,884 miles [9,469.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,593 miles [10,610.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,469 miles [7,192.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Mountain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Blue Mountain 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>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.
<4>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 Blue Mountain 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 Blue Mountain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7059, Longitude: -77.5294       In this case, the coordinates for Blue Mountain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.13 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.837 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.611 degrees.