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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Urbana, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Urbana 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 Urbana:
    • 39.328609, -77.351953
    • 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 Urbana
  • 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 Frederick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick County
    • Since Urbana is near Montgomery County and also Loudoun 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 Loudoun 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 Urbana

Communities Also Named Urbana ...

We found fifteen communities that are also named Urbana.

Within Maryland, the name Urbana is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Union County
      • This Urbana is located in Union County and lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Urbana.
    • Illinois
      • Champaign County
      • This Urbana is located in Champaign County and lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<1> to the west of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Champaign County community of Urbana.
    • Indiana
      • Wabash County
      • This Urbana is located in Wabash County and lies 458 miles [737.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wabash County community of Urbana.
    • Iowa
      • Benton County
      • This Urbana is located in Benton County and lies 784 miles [1,261.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Urbana.
    • Kansas
      • Allen 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 Kansas community of Urbana [Allen County].
      • Nemaha 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 Kansas community of Urbana [Nemaha County].
      • Neosho County
      • This Urbana is located in Neosho County and lies 981 miles [1,578.8 km]<1> to the west of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Neosho County community of Urbana.
      • Shawnee 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 Kansas community of Urbana [Shawnee County].
    • Missouri
      • Dallas County
      • This Urbana is located in Dallas County and lies 858 miles [1,380.8 km]<1> to the west of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of Urbana.
      • Henry 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 Missouri community of Urbana [Henry County].
    • Nebraska
      • Phelps 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 Nebraska community of Urbana [Phelps County].
    • New York
      • Steuben County
      • This Urbana is located in Steuben County and lies 216 miles [347.6 km]<1> to the north of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Steuben County community of Urbana.
    • North Dakota
      • Barnes County
      • This Urbana is located in Barnes County and lies 1,179 miles [1,897.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barnes County community of Urbana.
    • Ohio
      • Champaign County
      • This Urbana is located in Champaign County and lies 344 miles [553.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Champaign County community of Urbana.
    • Texas
      • San Jacinto County
      • This Urbana is located in San Jacinto County and lies 1,162 miles [1,870.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Urbana that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Jacinto County community of Urbana.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Urbana ...

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 Woods Estates
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Big Woods Estates is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Woods Estates
  • Burnt Hickory
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Burnt Hickory is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Hickory
  • Dennis ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Dennis is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
  • Flint Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Flint Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
  • Frederick Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Frederick Junction is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick Junction
  • Green Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Valley is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
  • Heritage Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Heritage Hills is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
  • Hope Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hope Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Hill
  • Hope Valley Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hope Valley Hills is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley Hills
  • Hunting Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hunting Hills is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills
  • Land of Promise
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Land of Promise is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Land of Promise
  • Michaels Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Michaels Mill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaels Mill
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Park Mills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Rangers Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rangers Woods is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangers Woods
    • Reels Mill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Riverwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Riverwood is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
    • Rolling Green
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rolling Green is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
    • Stone Barn Station
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Stone Barn Station is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Barn Station
    • Sugarloaf Vista
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sugarloaf Vista is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarloaf Vista

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

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

  • Frederick, which is the Seat of Frederick County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 52 miles [83.7 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Urbana to Annapolis, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 34 miles [54.7 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 most of two days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,892 miles [9,482.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,476 miles [7,203.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Urbana) 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 Urbana 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 Urbana 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 Urbana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3286, Longitude: -77.3520    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.049 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.686 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.681 degrees.