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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Maple Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Maple Ridge 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 Maple Ridge:
    • 39.072609, -76.692746
    • 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 Maple Ridge
  • 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 Maple Ridge is near Prince George's County and also Howard 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 Howard 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 Maple Ridge

Communities Also Named Maple Ridge ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Maple Ridge.

Within Maryland, the name Maple Ridge is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of fifteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these fifteen communities, eleven are located in the United States and six are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Maple Ridge lies 2,335 miles [3,757.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
    • Georgia
      • Gwinnett County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Gwinnett County and lies 538 miles [865.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gwinnett County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Illinois
      • Cook County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Cook County and lies 620 miles [997.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Indiana
      • Marion County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Marion County and lies 513 miles [825.6 km]<1> to the west of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Massachusetts
      • Norfolk County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Norfolk County and lies 343 miles [552 km]<1> to the northeast of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Norfolk County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Michigan
      • Arenac County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Arenac County and lies 511 miles [822.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Arenac County community of Maple Ridge.
      • Delta County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Maple Ridge [Delta County].
    • Minnesota
      • Isanti County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Maple Ridge [Isanti County].
    • New Brunswick
      • This Maple Ridge lies 682 miles [1,097.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
    • Ohio
      • Mahoning County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Mahoning County and lies 263 miles [423.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mahoning County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Ontario
      • This Maple Ridge lies 439 miles [706.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Somerset County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Somerset County and lies 141 miles [226.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Quebec
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Quebec community of Maple Ridge.
    • South Carolina
      • Berkeley County
      • This Maple Ridge is located in Berkeley County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Maple Ridge that is located in Anne Arundel County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berkeley County community of Maple Ridge.
    • Wisconsin
      • Douglas County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Maple Ridge [Douglas County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Maple Ridge ...

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.

  • Admiral ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Admiral is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admiral
  • Brandy Farms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Brandy Farms is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Farms
  • Chase Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Chase Hill is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase Hill
  • Colony Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Colony Ridge is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony Ridge
  • Hidden Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Hidden Village is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Village
  • Kings Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Kings Heights is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Heights
  • Kings Ransom
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Kings Ransom is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Ransom
  • Lions Gate
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lions Gate is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lions Gate
  • Mallet Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Mallet Hill is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallet Hill
  • Mistwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Mistwood is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mistwood
  • Piney Orchard
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Piney Orchard is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Orchard
  • Seven Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Seven Oaks is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
  • Stillmeadow
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Stillmeadow is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillmeadow
  • Stoney Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Stoney Hill is located in Anne Arundel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Hill

How Far From Maple Ridge to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Maple Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Annapolis, which is the Seat of Anne Arundel County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Maple Ridge 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 12 miles [19.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 22 miles [35.4 km] to the west southwest (WSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,875 miles [9,454.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,580 miles [10,589.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,457 miles [7,172.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Maple Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Maple Ridge 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>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 Maple Ridge 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 Maple Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0726, Longitude: -76.6927       In this case, the coordinates for Maple Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.675 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.222 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.501 degrees.