RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New Jersey >> Hunterdon County >> Amsterdam >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Amsterdam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Amsterdam 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 Amsterdam:
    • 40.587601, -75.158508
    • 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 Amsterdam
  • 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 Hunterdon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hunterdon County
    • Since Amsterdam is near Warren County and also Bucks County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Warren County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bucks 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 Amsterdam

Communities Also Named Amsterdam ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Amsterdam.

Within New Jersey, the name Amsterdam is unique.

Beyond New Jersey, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Merced County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Merced County and lies 2,417 miles [3,889.8 km]<1> to the west of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Merced County community of Amsterdam.
    • Georgia
      • Decatur County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Decatur County and lies 855 miles [1,376 km]<1> to the southwest of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Decatur County community of Amsterdam.
    • Idaho
      • Twin Falls County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Twin Falls County and lies 2,025 miles [3,258.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Twin Falls County community of Amsterdam.
    • Missouri
      • Bates County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Bates County and lies 1,045 miles [1,681.8 km]<1> to the west of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bates County community of Amsterdam.
    • Montana
      • Gallatin County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Gallatin County and lies 1,839 miles [2,959.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallatin County community of Amsterdam.
    • New York
      • Franklin 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 Amsterdam [Franklin County].
      • Montgomery County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Montgomery County and lies 170 miles [273.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Amsterdam.
    • Ohio
      • Auglaize County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Auglaize County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Auglaize County community of Amsterdam.
      • Jefferson County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Jefferson County and lies 302 miles [486 km]<1> to the west of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Amsterdam.
      • Licking County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Licking County and lies 382 miles [614.8 km] to the west of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Licking County community of Amsterdam.
      • Ross County
      • This community is historic and although located in Ross County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ross County community of Amsterdam.
    • Ontario
      • 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 Ontario community of Amsterdam.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Mercer County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Mercer County and lies 262 miles [421.6 km]<1> to the west of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mercer County community of Amsterdam.
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Amsterdam lies 1,503 miles [2,418.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
    • Texas
      • Brazoria County
      • Although located in Brazoria County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazoria County community of Amsterdam.
    • Virginia
      • Botetourt County
      • This Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County and lies 335 miles [539.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Amsterdam that is located in Hunterdon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Botetourt County community of Amsterdam.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Amsterdam ...

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.

  • Carpentersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Carpentersville is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpentersville
  • Coffeetown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Coffeetown is located in Northampton County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffeetown
  • Ferndale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Ferndale is located in Bucks County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
  • Finesville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Finesville is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finesville
  • Holland
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Holland is located in Hunterdon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
  • Hughesville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Hughesville is located in Hunterdon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughesville
  • Kennedys
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Kennedys is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedys
  • Little York
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Little York is located in Hunterdon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
  • Mount Joy
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Mount Joy is located in Hunterdon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
  • Narrowsville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Narrowsville is located in Bucks County (PA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrowsville
  • Spring Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Spring Mills is located in Hunterdon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
  • Springtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Springtown is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
  • Upper Black Eddy
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Flemington, which is the Seat of Hunterdon County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Amsterdam to Flemington, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Trenton, which is the State Capital of New Jersey, lies 32 miles [51.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 153 miles [246.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,747 miles [9,248.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,455 miles [10,388.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,332 miles [6,971.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Amsterdam) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Amsterdam 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>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Amsterdam, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Amsterdam 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 Amsterdam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5876, Longitude: -75.1585       In this case, the coordinates for Amsterdam have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.642 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.288 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.221 degrees.