Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Laurel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Laurel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Laurel
- 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 West Laurel:
- 39.101219, -76.899696
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on West Laurel
- 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 Prince George's County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Prince George's County
- Since West Laurel is near Montgomery County and also Howard County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- eBird sighting report for Howard 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Laurel ...
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.
- Castlegate
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castlegate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castlegate
- Castlegate is located in Montgomery County
- Cherrywood
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherrywood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
- Cherrywood is located in Prince George's County
- Deer Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Fox Rest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Green Castle Woods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Castle Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle Woods
- Green Castle Woods is located in Montgomery County
- Gum Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
- Gum Springs is located in Montgomery County
- High Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Ridge
- High Ridge is located in Howard County
- Knightsbridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knightsbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightsbridge
- Knightsbridge is located in Montgomery County
- Lakeview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Laurel Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Oaks
- Laurel Oaks is located in Prince George's County
- Mistletoe Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mistletoe Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mistletoe Springs
- Mistletoe Springs is located in Prince George's County
- Robinsons Promise
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robinsons Promise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Promise
- Robinsons Promise is located in Howard County
- Saddle Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saddle Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddle Creek
- Saddle Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Scotchtown Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotchtown Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotchtown Hills
- Scotchtown Hills is located in Prince George's County
- Settlers Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Settlers Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settlers Landing
- Settlers Landing is located in Howard County
- Laurel Oaks
How Far From West Laurel 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 West Laurel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in West Laurel and extending to:
- Upper Marlboro, which is the Seat of Prince George's County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from West Laurel to Upper Marlboro, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 23 miles [37 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 15 miles [24.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take most of a day.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,883 miles [9,467.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,589 miles [10,604 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,465 miles [7,185.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Laurel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Prince George's County: www.co.pg.md.us/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Laurel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Laurel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1012, Longitude: -76.8997 In this case, the coordinates for West Laurel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 West Laurel to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.795 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.363 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.577 degrees. |