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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Potomac, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Potomac and the surrounding area.

  • 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:
    • 39.018040, -77.208945
    • 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
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Potomac is near Fairfax County and also Arlington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Arlington 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

Communities Also Named Potomac ...

We found ten communities that are also named Potomac.

There is one other community in Maryland that is also named Potomac.

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

  • Communities Located In Maryland ...
    • Allegany County
      • This Potomac is located in Allegany County and lies 95 miles [152.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Potomac that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Potomac.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Vermilion County
      • This Potomac is located in Vermilion County and lies 569 miles [915.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Potomac that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vermilion County community of Potomac.
    • Kansas
      • Linn County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Linn County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Linn County community of Potomac.
    • Montana
      • Missoula County
      • This Potomac is located in Missoula County and lies 1,897 miles [3,052.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Potomac that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Missoula County community of Potomac.
    • Nevada
      • Nye County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Nye County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nye County community of Potomac.
    • Virginia
      • Alexandria City
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Potomac [Alexandria City].
      • Prince William County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Potomac [Prince William County].
      • Stafford County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Potomac [Stafford County].
    • West Virginia
      • Mineral County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Potomac [Mineral County].
      • Ohio County
      • This Potomac is located in Ohio County and lies 193 miles [310.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Potomac that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ohio County community of Potomac.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Potomac ...

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.

  • Big Pines
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Big Pines is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Pines
  • Cabin John
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cabin John Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cabin John Park is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin John Park
  • Falls Orchard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Falls Orchard is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Orchard
  • Fox Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fox Hills is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hills
  • Glen
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Glen is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen
  • Glen Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Glen Hills is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hills
  • Great Falls
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Great Falls is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Falls
  • Heritage Walk
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Heritage Walk is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Walk
  • Hickory Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory Run is located in Fairfax County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Run
  • Holly Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Holly Hill is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Hill
  • Lake Potomac
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Potomac is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Potomac
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Longwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Longwood is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Marymount
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Marymount is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marymount
    • Peacock
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Peacock is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock
    • Scotland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Scotland is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
    • Swinks Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Swinks Mill is located in Fairfax County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swinks Mill
    • Walnut Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Walnut Woods is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Woods
    • Wildwood Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Wildwood Hills is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Hills

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

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

  • Rockville, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Potomac to Annapolis, with an average speed<5> 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 12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,900 miles [9,495.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,606 miles [10,631.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,482 miles [7,213.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Potomac) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Potomac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Potomac 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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 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. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0180, Longitude: -77.2089    
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.983 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.564 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.74 degrees.