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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rockaway Beach, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach:
    • 39.294830, -76.399126
    • 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 Rockaway Beach
  • 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 Rockaway Beach is near Baltimore City and also Harford 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 Harford 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 Rockaway Beach

Communities Also Named Rockaway Beach ...

We found eight communities that are also named Rockaway Beach.

Within Maryland, the name Rockaway Beach is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • San Mateo County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in San Mateo County and lies 2,468 miles [3,971.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Mateo County community of Rockaway Beach.
    • Idaho
      • Kootenai County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in Kootenai County and lies 2,074 miles [3,337.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kootenai County community of Rockaway Beach.
    • Missouri
      • Taney County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in Taney County and lies 928 miles [1,493.5 km]<1> to the west of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Taney County community of Rockaway Beach.
    • New York
      • Queens 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 New York community of Rockaway Beach [Queens County].
    • Oregon
      • Tillamook County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in Tillamook County and lies 2,424 miles [3,901 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tillamook County community of Rockaway Beach.
    • Washington
      • Island County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in Island County and lies 2,344 miles [3,772.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Island County community of Rockaway Beach.
    • Wisconsin
      • Calumet County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in Calumet County and lies 697 miles [1,121.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calumet County community of Rockaway Beach.
      • Winnebago County
      • This Rockaway Beach is located in Winnebago County and lies 704 miles [1,133 km] to the west northwest of the Rockaway Beach that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Winnebago County community of Rockaway Beach.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockaway Beach ...

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
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Airport Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Beach
  • Bowleys Quarters
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Bowleys Quarters is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowleys Quarters
  • Breezy Point Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • 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 southwest)
    • Cedar Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Beach
  • Dundee Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Dundee Village is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee Village
  • Eagle Nest
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Eagle Nest is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Nest
  • Edgewater
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgewater is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
  • Evergreen Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Evergreen Park is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
  • Hartland Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hartland Run is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Run
  • Hartland Village
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hartland Village is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Village
  • Holly Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Holly Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Beach
  • Island View Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Island View Beach is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View Beach
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Marys Choice
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Marys Choice is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marys Choice
    • Middlesex
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Middlesex is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
    • Porters Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Porters Park is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters Park
    • Shady Oaks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Shady Oaks is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Oaks
    • Sue Creek Landing
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Sue Creek Landing is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sue Creek Landing
    • Turkey Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Turkey Point is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Point
    • Wildwood Beach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Wildwood Beach is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Beach

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

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rockaway Beach to Towson, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 22 miles [35.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 43 miles [69.2 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,854 miles [9,421.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,559 miles [10,555.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,436 miles [7,139 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- Rockaway Beach) 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 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 Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2948, Longitude: -76.3991       In this case, the coordinates for Rockaway Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.486 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.042 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.29 degrees.