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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sugarland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sugarland 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 Sugarland:
    • 39.099552, -77.391097
    • 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 Sugarland
  • 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 Sugarland is near Loudoun County and also Fairfax County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Loudoun County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax 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 Sugarland

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sugarland ...

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.

  • Countryside
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Countryside is located in Loudoun County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
  • Dawsonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dawsonville is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Edwards Ferry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Edwards Ferry is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Ferry
  • Elizabeths Delight
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Elizabeths Delight is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeths Delight
  • Elmer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmer is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
  • Jerusalem
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jerusalem is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem
  • Jonesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jonesville is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
  • Lees Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lees Corner is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Corner
  • Mitchells Range
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Mitchells Range is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchells Range
  • Natural Woods
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Natural Woods is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natural Woods
  • Pioneer Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer Hills is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Hills
  • Riverwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Riverwood is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Rushville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rushville is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
    • Spring Meadows
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Spring Meadows is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadows
    • Sugarland Run
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Sugarland Run is located in Loudoun County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarland Run
    • University Center
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • University Center is located in Loudoun County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Center

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

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

  • Rockville, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Sugarland to Rockville, with an average speed<2> 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 48 miles [77.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 23 miles [37 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 5,904 miles [9,501.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,611 miles [10,639.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,487 miles [7,221.1 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sugarland) 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 Sugarland 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 Sugarland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0996, Longitude: -77.3911       In this case, the coordinates for Sugarland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.086 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.694 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.786 degrees.