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 Birchwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Birchwood 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 Birchwood:
    • 45.061077, -92.976049
    • 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 Birchwood
  • 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 Birchwood ...

We found seventeen communities that share the name Birchwood.

Within Minnesota, the name Birchwood is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • This Birchwood lies 2,491 miles [4,008.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
    • Arkansas
      • Pulaski 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 Arkansas community of Birchwood [Pulaski County].
    • Connecticut
      • Hartford County
      • This Birchwood is located in Hartford County and lies 1,035 miles [1,665.7 km]<1> to the east of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hartford County community of Birchwood.
    • Illinois
      • Cook County
      • This Birchwood is located in Cook County and lies 338 miles [544 km]<1> to the southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Birchwood.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Birchwood is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 938 miles [1,509.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Birchwood.
    • Michigan
      • Berrien County
      • This Birchwood is located in Berrien County and lies 386 miles [621.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berrien County community of Birchwood.
      • Cheboygan County
      • This Birchwood is located in Cheboygan County and lies 410 miles [659.8 km] to the east of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheboygan County community of Birchwood.
    • New York
      • Nassau 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 New York community of Birchwood [Nassau County].
    • North Carolina
      • Alamance County
      • This Birchwood is located in Alamance County and lies 936 miles [1,506.3 km]<1> to the southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alamance County community of Birchwood.
      • Pitt County
      • This Birchwood is located in Pitt County and lies 1,037 miles [1,668.9 km] to the southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitt County community of Birchwood.
    • Ontario
      • This Birchwood lies 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<1> to the east of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
    • Tennessee
      • Hamilton County
      • This Birchwood is located in Hamilton County and lies 790 miles [1,271.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Birchwood.
      • Meigs 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 Tennessee community of Birchwood [Meigs County].
      • Montgomery County
      • This Birchwood is located in Montgomery County and lies 650 miles [1,046.1 km] to the south southeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Birchwood.
    • Washington
      • Whatcom County
      • This Birchwood is located in Whatcom County and lies 1,407 miles [2,264.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Whatcom County community of Birchwood.
    • Wisconsin
      • Kewaunee County
      • This Birchwood is located in Kewaunee County and lies 268 miles [431.3 km]<1> to the east of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kewaunee County community of Birchwood.
      • Washburn County
      • This Birchwood is located in Washburn County and lies 80 miles [128.7 km] to the east northeast of the Birchwood that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washburn County community of Birchwood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Birchwood ...

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.

  • Bald Eagle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Eagle
    • Bald Eagle is located in Ramsey County
  • Gem Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gem Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
    • Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
  • Grant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
    • Grant is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
  • Lake Elmo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Little Canada
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Canada have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Canada
    • Little Canada is located in Ramsey County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Canada <4>
  • Maplewood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
    • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
  • White Bear Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Bear Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
    • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
  • White Bear Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)

How Far From Birchwood to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Birchwood to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Stillwater, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the East.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Birchwood to Saint Paul, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 920 miles [1,480.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,209 miles [9,992.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,963 miles [11,205.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,871 miles [7,839.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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

The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Birchwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Birchwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0611, Longitude: -92.9760       In this case, the coordinates for Birchwood 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 Birchwood 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 Birchwood 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 318.091 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.937 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.461 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024