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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sewells Orchard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sewells Orchard 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 Sewells Orchard:
    • 39.195940, -76.827196
    • 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 Sewells Orchard
  • 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 Sewells Orchard is near Anne Arundel County and also Baltimore County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anne Arundel County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore 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 Sewells Orchard

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sewells Orchard ...

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.

  • Arrowhead
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Arrowhead is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
  • Bonnie Brae
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bonnie Brae is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Brae
  • Cedar Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Woods
  • Cedars
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedars is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedars
  • Chase Eden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chase Eden is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase Eden
  • Dasher Green
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Dasher Green is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher Green
  • Elkhorn
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Elkhorn is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Harpers Choice
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Harpers Choice is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpers Choice
  • Heritage Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Heritage Woods is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Woods
  • Holiday Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Holiday Hills is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
  • Hopewell
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Hopewell is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
  • Howard Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Howard Hills is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Hills
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Jonestown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jonestown is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
    • Locust Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Locust Park is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Park
    • Long Reach
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Long Reach is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Reach
    • Longfellow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Longfellow is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longfellow
    • Magnolia ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Magnolia is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Mission Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Mission Heights is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Heights
    • Phelps Luck
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Phelps Luck is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps Luck
    • Pleasant Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Pleasant View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasant View is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
    • Running Brook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Running Brook is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Brook
    • Stonebrook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Stonebrook is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonebrook
    • Thunder Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Thunder Hill is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thunder Hill
    • Timber Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Timber Run is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Run
    • Twin Oaks
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Twin Oaks is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Oaks
    • Vantage Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Vantage Point is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vantage Point
    • Wheatfield Way
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Wheatfield Way is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield Way
    • Woodland Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Woodland Village is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Woodvalley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodvalley is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodvalley

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

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

  • Ellicott City, which is the Seat of Howard County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Sewells Orchard to Annapolis, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 23 miles [37 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,876 miles [9,456.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,582 miles [10,592.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,458 miles [7,174.5 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sewells Orchard) 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 Sewells Orchard 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 Sewells Orchard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1959, Longitude: -76.8272       In this case, the coordinates for Sewells Orchard have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.746 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.322 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.51 degrees.