RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maine >> Somerset County >> Sandy River >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sandy River, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sandy River 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 Sandy River:
    • 44.726172, -69.885612
    • 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 Sandy River
  • 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
    • Since Sandy River is near Franklin County and also Kennebec County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kennebec 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 Sandy River

Communities Also Named Sandy River ...

We found two communities that are also named Sandy River.

Within Maine, the name Sandy River is unique.

Beyond Maine, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • South Carolina
      • Chester County
      • This Sandy River is located in Chester County and lies 921 miles [1,482.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Sandy River that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chester County community of Sandy River.
    • Virginia
      • Pittsylvania County
      • This Sandy River is located in Pittsylvania County and lies 751 miles [1,208.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Sandy River that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pittsylvania County community of Sandy River.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sandy River ...

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.

  • Cornville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cornville is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
  • Dane Corner
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dane Corner is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dane Corner
  • Decker Corner
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Decker Corner is located in Kennebec County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decker Corner
  • Industry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Industry is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 927 people
  • Martin Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Martin Corner is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Corner
  • Rice Corner
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rice Corner is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Corner
  • Rome Corner
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Rome Corner is located in Kennebec County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome Corner
  • Starks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Starks is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
  • Temple
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Temple is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people

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

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

  • Skowhegan, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Sandy River to Augusta, 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 just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 544 miles [875.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 31 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,365 miles [8,634.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,080 miles [9,784.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,955 miles [6,365 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<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- Sandy River) 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 Sandy River 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 Sandy River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.7262, Longitude: -69.8856       In this case, the coordinates for Sandy River have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 302.866 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.733 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 298.75 degrees.