RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in California, we use the following websites to find information relevant to California 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 California:
    • 41.796438, -84.883294
    • 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 California
  • 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

Communities Also Named California ...

We found twenty communities that share the name California.

Within Michigan, the name California is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twenty communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Paulding County
      • This California is located in Paulding County and lies 543 miles [873.9 km]<1> to the south of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Paulding County community of California.
    • Iowa
      • Harrison 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 Iowa community of California [Harrison County].
    • Kansas
      • Coffey 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 California [Coffey County].
    • Kentucky
      • Campbell County
      • This California is located in Campbell County and lies 201 miles [323.5 km]<1> to the south of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Campbell County community of California.
    • Louisiana
      • Madison Parish
      • 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 Louisiana community of California [Madison Parish].
    • Maine
      • Aroostook County
      • This California is located in Aroostook County and lies 901 miles [1,450 km]<1> to the east northeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aroostook County community of California.
    • Maryland
      • Saint Mary's County
      • This California is located in Saint Mary's County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary's County community of California.
      • Wicomico County
      • This California is located in Wicomico County and lies 543 miles [873.9 km] to the east southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wicomico County community of California.
    • Missouri
      • Moniteau County
      • This California is located in Moniteau County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Moniteau County community of California.
    • North Carolina
      • Dare County
      • This California is located in Dare County and lies 639 miles [1,028.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dare County community of California.
      • Hertford County
      • This California is located in Hertford County and lies 565 miles [909.3 km] to the southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hertford County community of California.
      • Madison County
      • This California is located in Madison County and lies 428 miles [688.8 km] to the south southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of California.
      • Pitt County
      • This California is located in Pitt County and lies 580 miles [933.4 km] to the southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitt County community of California.
    • Ohio
      • Hamilton County
      • This California is located in Hamilton County and lies 190 miles [305.8 km]<1> to the south of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of California.
    • Ontario
      • This California lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Bucks County
      • This California is located in Bucks County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<1> to the east of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bucks County community of California.
      • Luzerne 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 Pennsylvania community of California [Luzerne County].
      • Montour County
      • This California is located in Montour County and lies 425 miles [684 km] to the east of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montour County community of California.
      • Washington County
      • This California is located in Washington County and lies 286 miles [460.3 km] to the east southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of California.
    • Virginia
      • Rockbridge County
      • This California is located in Rockbridge County and lies 388 miles [624.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the California that is located in Branch County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockbridge County community of California.

Curious and Interesting Names Near California ...

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.

  • Canada Shores
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Shores
    • Canada Shores is located in Branch County
  • Clear Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
    • Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
  • Crystal Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Beach
    • Crystal Beach is located in Branch County
  • Fisher
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
    • Fisher is located in Branch County
  • Jamestown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Jamestown is located in Steuben County (IN)
  • Kinderhook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinderhook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Kinderhook is located in Branch County
  • Page
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Page have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Page
    • Page is located in Steuben County (IN)
  • Pearl Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl Beach
    • Pearl Beach is located in Branch County
  • Reading
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Stringtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Stringtown is located in Branch County

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

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

  • Coldwater, which is the Seat of Branch County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from California to Coldwater, with an average speed<5> 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.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 66 miles [106.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 458 miles [737.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,084 miles [9,791.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,817 miles [10,970.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,696 miles [7,557.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for California. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Branch County: www.co.branch.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

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- California) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in California. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7964, Longitude: -84.8833       In this case, the coordinates for California have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 California 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>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 California to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.632 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.265 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.246 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024