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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Porters Park, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Porters Park 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 Porters Park:
    • 39.255108, -76.406070
    • 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 Porters Park
  • 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 Porters Park is near Baltimore City and also Anne Arundel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anne Arundel 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 Porters Park

Curious and Interesting Names Near Porters Park ...

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
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Airport Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Beach
  • Breezy Point Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Breezy Point Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breezy Point Beach
  • Cedar Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Cedar Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Beach
  • Eagle Nest
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Eagle Nest is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Nest
  • Evergreen Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Evergreen Park is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
  • Hartland Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartland Run is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Run
  • Hartland Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartland Village is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Village
  • Holly Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Holly Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Beach
  • Island View Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Island View Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View Beach
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Lodge Forest
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lodge Forest is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodge Forest
    • Lynch Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Lynch Point is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Point
    • Rockaway Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Rockaway Beach is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockaway Beach
    • Sue Creek Landing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Sue Creek Landing is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sue Creek Landing
    • Turkey Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Turkey Point is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Point
    • Wildwood Beach
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Wildwood Beach is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Beach

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Porters Park and extending to:

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Porters Park to Towson, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 19 miles [30.6 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take 6 hours and walking would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 41 miles [66 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 about three full days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,856 miles [9,424.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,561 miles [10,558.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,438 miles [7,142.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Porters Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Porters Park 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 Porters Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2551, Longitude: -76.4061       In this case, the coordinates for Porters Park have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.493 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.044 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.308 degrees.