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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Brightwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Brightwood 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 Brightwood:
    • 39.109554, -76.613577
    • 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 Brightwood
  • 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 Brightwood is near Baltimore County and also Baltimore City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore City
  • 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 Brightwood

Communities Also Named Brightwood ...

We found nine communities that are also named Brightwood.

There are two communities within Maryland that are also named Brightwood.

Beyond Maryland, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Maryland ...
    • Baltimore County
      • This Brightwood is located in Baltimore County and lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the north of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Brightwood.
    • Queen Anne's County
      • This Brightwood is located in Queen Anne's County and lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Queen Anne's County community of Brightwood.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Marion County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Brightwood [Marion County].
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden County
      • This Brightwood is located in Hampden County and lies 295 miles [474.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Brightwood.
    • North Carolina
      • Guilford County
      • This Brightwood is located in Guilford County and lies 268 miles [431.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Guilford County community of Brightwood.
    • Ohio
      • Tuscarawas County
      • This Brightwood is located in Tuscarawas County and lies 269 miles [432.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscarawas County community of Brightwood.
    • Oregon
      • Clackamas County
      • This Brightwood is located in Clackamas County and lies 2,329 miles [3,748.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clackamas County community of Brightwood.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Brightwood is located in Allegheny County and lies 200 miles [321.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Brightwood.
    • Virginia
      • Madison County
      • This Brightwood is located in Madison County and lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Brightwood that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Brightwood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Brightwood ...

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.

  • Chartwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Chartwood is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartwood
  • Derby Farms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Derby Farms is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby Farms
  • Dundee
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Dundee is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
  • Fair Winds
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fair Winds is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Winds
  • Fox Chase
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Fox Chase is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Chase
  • Foxhollow
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Foxhollow is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxhollow
  • Freetown Village
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Freetown Village is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freetown Village
  • Frost
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Frost is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
  • Glen Hollow
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Glen Hollow is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hollow
  • Greentree
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Greentree is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentree
  • Harpers Mill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Harpers Mill is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpers Mill
  • Hillendale
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Hillendale is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillendale
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Long Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Long Hill is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Hill
    • Marley Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Marley Run is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marley Run
    • Millrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Millrace is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millrace
    • Quail Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Quail Run is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
    • Stewarts Purchase
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Stewarts Purchase is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewarts Purchase
    • Sun Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sun Valley is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
    • Timber Glade
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Timber Glade is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Glade
    • Twin Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Twin Ridge is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Ridge
    • Village Square
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Village Square is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Square
    • Windy Knolls
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Windy Knolls is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy Knolls
    • Woods Edge
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Woods Edge is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Edge
    • Woodside Square
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodside Square is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Square

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

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

  • Annapolis, which is the Seat of Anne Arundel County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Brightwood to Annapolis, 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 11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 27 miles [43.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,870 miles [9,446.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,575 miles [10,581.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,452 miles [7,164.8 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brightwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Brightwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Brightwood 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 Brightwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1096, Longitude: -76.6136       In this case, the coordinates for Brightwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.626 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.172 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.453 degrees.