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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Velvet Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Velvet Ridge 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 Velvet Ridge:
    • 39.429828, -76.733585
    • 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 Velvet Ridge
  • 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 Velvet Ridge is near Baltimore City and also Carroll 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 Carroll 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 Velvet Ridge

Communities Also Named Velvet Ridge ...

We found one communities that are also named Velvet Ridge.

Within Maryland, the name Velvet Ridge is unique.

Beyond Maryland, there is another community also named Velvet Ridge in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • White County
      • This Velvet Ridge is located in White County and lies 858 miles [1,380.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Velvet Ridge that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Velvet Ridge.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Velvet Ridge ...

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.

  • Autumn Wind
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Autumn Wind is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Autumn Wind
  • Belltown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Belltown is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
  • Cave Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cave Valley is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Valley
  • Caves Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Caves Park is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caves Park
  • Chapel Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Chapel Hill is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
  • Chapel Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Chapel Ridge is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Ridge
  • Chestnut Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Chestnut Ridge is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
  • Deer Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Deer Run is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
  • Delight
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Delight is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
  • Fallswood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fallswood is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallswood
  • Fields of Stevenson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fields of Stevenson is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields of Stevenson
  • Fishtown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fishtown is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishtown
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • Green Spring Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Green Spring Junction is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Spring Junction
    • Greene Tree
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Greene Tree is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Tree
    • Greenspring
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Greenspring is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenspring
    • Greenwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Greenwood is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Grey Rock
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Grey Rock is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grey Rock
    • Halcyon Gate
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Halcyon Gate is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halcyon Gate
    • Hickory Meadow
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hickory Meadow is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Meadow
    • Hillside Hunt
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hillside Hunt is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Hunt
    • Hunt Cup Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Hunt Cup Hill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Cup Hill
    • Hunters Glen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hunters Glen is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Glen
    • Huntspring
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Huntspring is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntspring
    • Julian Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Julian Woods is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian Woods
    • Leisure Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Leisure Hill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Hill
    • Pikesville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Rogers ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rogers is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Seminary Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Seminary Springs is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Springs
    • Timber Chase
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Timber Chase is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Chase
    • Timber Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Timber Grove is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Grove
    • Tollgate
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Tollgate is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tollgate
    • Valley Brook
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Valley Brook is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Brook
    • Valley Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Valley Hills is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hills
    • Velvet Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Velvet Hills is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velvet Hills
    • Velvet Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Velvet Valley is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velvet Valley
    • Waterspout
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Waterspout is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterspout

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

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

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies just to the East Southeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 33 miles [53.1 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Velvet Ridge to Annapolis, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 40 miles [64.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 over two days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,862 miles [9,434 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,569 miles [10,571.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,445 miles [7,153.5 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 from Point A (ie- Velvet Ridge) 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 Velvet Ridge 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 Velvet Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4298, Longitude: -76.7336       In this case, the coordinates for Velvet Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.674 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.277 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.378 degrees.