RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Anne Arundel County >> Briar Lea >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Briar Lea, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Briar Lea 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 Briar Lea:
    • 39.037611, -76.494406
    • 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 Briar Lea
  • 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 Anne Arundel County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anne Arundel County
    • Since Briar Lea is near Queen Anne's County and also Baltimore County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Queen Anne's County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore 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 Briar Lea

Curious and Interesting Names Near Briar Lea ...

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.

  • Admirals Walk
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Admirals Walk is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admirals Walk
  • Arnold
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Birchwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Birchwood is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
  • Captains Choice
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Captains Choice is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captains Choice
  • Cherrywood
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Cherrywood is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
  • Crystal Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Crystal Beach is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Beach
  • Deer Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Deer Creek is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
  • Divinity Cove
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Divinity Cove is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divinity Cove
  • Downs on the Severn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Downs on the Severn is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs on the Severn
  • Dreams Landing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dreams Landing is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dreams Landing
  • Fernbrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Fernbrook is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernbrook
  • Forest Meadows
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Forest Meadows is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Meadows
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • Great Meadows
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Great Meadows is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Meadows
    • Greenholly
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Greenholly is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenholly
    • Harbour Glen
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Harbour Glen is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbour Glen
    • Hickory Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Hickory Hills is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Hidden Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Hidden Hills is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Hills
    • Hidden Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Hidden Ridge is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Ridge
    • Indian Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Indian Hills is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
    • Jones
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jones is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
    • Joyce
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Joyce is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce
    • Landhaven
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Landhaven is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landhaven
    • Lark Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Lark Hill is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lark Hill
    • Little John
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Little John is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little John
    • Longmeadow
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Longmeadow is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longmeadow
    • Longview
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Longview is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
    • Maid Marion
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Maid Marion is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maid Marion
    • Martins Cove Farm
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Martins Cove Farm is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Cove Farm
    • Oak Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Raintree
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Raintree is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree
    • Robin Hood Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Robin Hood Hill is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robin Hood Hill
    • Round Bay
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Round Bay is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bay
    • Tanglewood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Tanglewood is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
    • Terrace Gardens
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Terrace Gardens is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrace Gardens
    • Twin Harbors
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Twin Harbors is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Harbors
    • Walnut Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Walnut Ridge is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Ridge
    • Whispering Woods
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Whispering Woods is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Woods

How Far From Briar Lea 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 Briar Lea to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Briar Lea and extending to:

  • Annapolis, which is the Seat of Anne Arundel County, lies just to the South.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies just to the south (S).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Briar Lea to White House, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,868 miles [9,443.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,573 miles [10,578.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,450 miles [7,161.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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- Briar Lea) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Briar Lea 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 Briar Lea. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0376, Longitude: -76.4944       In this case, the coordinates for Briar Lea have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.561 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.087 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.432 degrees.