RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Charles County >> Laurel Branch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Laurel Branch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch:
    • 38.640395, -77.009142
    • 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 Laurel Branch
  • 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 Charles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Charles County
    • Since Laurel Branch is near Prince George's County and also Fairfax County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince George's County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax 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 Laurel Branch

Communities Also Named Laurel Branch ...

We found three communities that are also named Laurel Branch.

Within Maryland, the name Laurel Branch is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Jackson County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Jackson County and lies 395 miles [635.7 km]<1> to the west of the Laurel Branch that is located in Charles County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Laurel Branch.
    • Virginia
      • Floyd County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Floyd County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Laurel Branch that is located in Charles County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Floyd County community of Laurel Branch.
    • West Virginia
      • Monroe County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Monroe County and lies 197 miles [317 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Laurel Branch that is located in Charles County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Laurel Branch.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Branch ...

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.

  • Berry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Berry is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry
  • Bolton
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Bolton is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
  • Bryans Road
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Camelot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Camelot is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot
  • Cedar Lawn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Lawn is located in Prince George's County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn
  • Countryside
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Countryside is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
  • Deerwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Deerwood is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerwood
  • Fox Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fox Run is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
  • Freedom Village
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Freedom Village is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
  • Holly Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Holly Hill is located in Prince George's County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Hill
  • Sharperville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sharperville is located in Prince George's County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharperville
  • Spring Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Spring Valley is located in Charles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley

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

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

  • La Plata, which is the Seat of Charles County, lies just to the South Southeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<1> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Laurel Branch to Annapolis, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 17 miles [27.4 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take most of a day.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,907 miles [9,506.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,611 miles [10,639.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,488 miles [7,222.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6404, Longitude: -77.0091       In this case, the coordinates for Laurel Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.889 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.399 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.801 degrees.