RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Washington County >> Potomac Manor >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Potomac Manor, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Potomac Manor 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 Potomac Manor:
    • 39.655652, -77.694993
    • 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 Potomac Manor
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Potomac Manor is near Franklin County and also Frederick County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick 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 Potomac Manor

Curious and Interesting Names Near Potomac Manor ...

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.

  • Cedar Lawn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Lawn is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lawn
  • Chewsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Chewsville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
  • Fiddlesburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Fiddlesburg is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiddlesburg
  • Fountain Head
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Fountain Head is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Head
  • Funkstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Gardenspot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gardenspot is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenspot
  • Greenberry Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenberry Hills is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenberry Hills
  • Hunter Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Hunter Hill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hill
  • Londontowne
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Londontowne is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Londontowne
  • Long Meadow
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Meadow is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
  • Orchard Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Orchard Hills is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
  • Paramount
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Paramount is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Security
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Security is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Security
    • Spring Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Spring Valley is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Sycamore Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sycamore Heights is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Heights
    • Terrace Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Terrace Hills is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrace Hills
    • Wood Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Wood Point is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Point

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Potomac Manor and extending to:

  • Hagerstown, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 79 miles [127.1 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Potomac Manor to Annapolis, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 63 miles [101.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,893 miles [9,483.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,603 miles [10,626.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,479 miles [7,208.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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- Potomac Manor) 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 Potomac Manor 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 Potomac Manor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6557, Longitude: -77.6950       In this case, the coordinates for Potomac Manor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.233 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.945 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.702 degrees.