RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Baltimore County >> Fitzell >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Fitzell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fitzell and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Fitzell:
    • 39.231219, -76.464961
    • 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 Fitzell
  • 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 Baltimore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Since Fitzell is near Anne Arundel County and also Baltimore City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anne Arundel 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 Fitzell

Curious and Interesting Names Near Fitzell ...

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.

  • Airport Beach ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Airport Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Beach
  • Cedar Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Beach
  • Eagle Nest
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle Nest is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Nest
  • Evergreen Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Evergreen Park is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
  • Graceland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Graceland is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceland
  • Gray Haven
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gray Haven is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Haven
  • Harborview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Harborview is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harborview
  • Hartland Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hartland Run is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Run
  • Island View Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Island View Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View Beach
  • Lodge Forest
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Lodge Forest is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodge Forest
  • Lynch Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Lynch Point is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Point
  • Porters Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Porters Park is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters Park
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Riverview ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Riverview is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Sparrows Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Sparrows Point is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparrows Point
    • Stony Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Stony Beach is located in Anne Arundel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Beach
    • Sue Creek Landing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sue Creek Landing is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sue Creek Landing
    • Wildwood Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Wildwood Beach is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Beach

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<1> community of Fitzell once stood, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Fitzell and extending to:

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Fitzell to Towson, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 17 miles [27.4 km] to the south (S). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 38 miles [61.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,859 miles [9,429.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,441 miles [7,147.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Fitzell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Fitzell) 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 Fitzell 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 Fitzell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2312, Longitude: -76.4650       In this case, the coordinates for Fitzell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.53 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.082 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.343 degrees.