RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Howard County >> Raintree Estates >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Raintree Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Raintree Estates 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 Raintree Estates:
    • 39.199551, -76.998866
    • 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 Raintree Estates
  • 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 Howard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard County
    • Since Raintree Estates is near Montgomery County and also Prince George's County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince George's 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 Raintree Estates

Communities Also Named Raintree Estates ...

We found two communities that are also named Raintree Estates.

Within Maryland, the name Raintree Estates is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • North Carolina
      • Davie County
      • This Raintree Estates is located in Davie County and lies 290 miles [466.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Raintree Estates that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davie County community of Raintree Estates.
    • Tennessee
      • Sumner County
      • This Raintree Estates is located in Sumner County and lies 560 miles [901.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Raintree Estates that is located in Howard County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumner County community of Raintree Estates.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Raintree Estates ...

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.

  • Cabin Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cabin Hill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabin Hill
  • Camelback Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Camelback Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelback Village
  • Chapel Woods
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Chapel Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Woods
  • Clarksville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Dill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Dill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dill
  • Fox Pause
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fox Pause is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Pause
  • Gary
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Gary is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
  • Gold Mine Crossing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gold Mine Crossing is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Mine Crossing
  • Greene Fields
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Greene Fields is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Fields
  • Hemlock Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hemlock Hill is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Hill
  • Heritage Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Heritage Heights is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Heights
  • Highland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Holiday Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Holiday Hills is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
    • Holly House
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Holly House is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly House
    • Lime Kiln Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lime Kiln Valley is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Kiln Valley
    • Manor Oaks
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Manor Oaks is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor Oaks
    • Quail Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Quail Hill is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hill
    • Sandy Spring
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Shepherds Glen
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Shepherds Glen is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherds Glen
    • Sunshine
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunshine is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
    • Twelve Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Twelve Hills is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Hills
    • Unity
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Unity is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity

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

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

  • Ellicott City, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Raintree Estates to Ellicott City, 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 31 miles [49.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 20 miles [32.2 km] to the south (S). 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 5,883 miles [9,467.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,589 miles [10,604 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,466 miles [7,187.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Raintree Estates) 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 Raintree Estates 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 Raintree Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1996, Longitude: -76.9989       In this case, the coordinates for Raintree Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.847 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.438 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.581 degrees.