Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gray Rock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gray Rock and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gray Rock
- 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 Gray Rock:
- 39.268995, -76.835530
- 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 Gray Rock
- 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 Howard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Howard County
- Since Gray Rock is near Baltimore County and also Baltimore City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Gray Rock ...
We found two communities that share the name Gray Rock.
Within Maryland, the name Gray Rock is unique.
Beyond Maryland, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gray Rock ...
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.
- Chapelview
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapelview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapelview
- Chapelview is located in Howard County
- Chestnut Farms
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Farms
- Chestnut Farms is located in Howard County
- Chestnut Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Chestnut Hill is located in Howard County
- Fox Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Gray
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Gray Rock Farms
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray Rock Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Rock Farms
- Gray Rock Farms is located in Howard County
- Grays Level
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grays Level have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Level
- Grays Level is located in Baltimore County
- Hilltop
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Howard Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howard Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Heights
- Howard Heights is located in Howard County
- Ivy Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Maplewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Pine Orchard
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
- Pine Orchard is located in Howard County
- Continue List (8 more) ...
- Rockland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Running Brook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Running Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Brook
- Running Brook is located in Howard County
- Sky View
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Thornbrook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornbrook
- Thornbrook is located in Howard County
- Thunder Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thunder Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thunder Hill
- Thunder Hill is located in Howard County
- Timber Point
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Point
- Timber Point is located in Baltimore County
- Toll House
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toll House have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toll House
- Toll House is located in Howard County
- Wheatfield Way
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatfield Way have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield Way
- Wheatfield Way is located in Howard County
- Rockland
How Far From Gray Rock 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 Gray Rock to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Gray Rock and extending to:
- Ellicott City, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies just to the East.
- Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Gray Rock to Annapolis, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 27 miles [43.5 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,873 miles [9,451.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,579 miles [10,587.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,456 miles [7,171.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gray Rock. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Howard County: www.co.ho.md.us/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gray Rock) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gray Rock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2690, Longitude: -76.8355 In this case, the coordinates for Gray Rock have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Gray Rock 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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Gray Rock to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.746 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.333 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.485 degrees. |