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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Anchorage, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Anchorage 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 Anchorage:
    • 40.001506, -74.142640
    • 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 Anchorage
  • 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 Ocean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ocean County
    • Since Anchorage is near Monmouth County and also Burlington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Monmouth County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Burlington 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 Anchorage

Communities Also Named Anchorage ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Anchorage.

Within New Jersey, the name Anchorage is unique.

Beyond New Jersey, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • This Anchorage lies 3,392 miles [5,458.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
    • Illinois
      • Cook 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 Illinois community of Anchorage [Cook County].
    • Indiana
      • Hamilton County
      • This Anchorage is located in Hamilton County and lies 624 miles [1,004.2 km]<1> to the west of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Anchorage.
    • Kentucky
      • Jefferson County
      • This Anchorage is located in Jefferson County and lies 621 miles [999.4 km]<1> to the west of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Anchorage.
    • Louisiana
      • West Baton Rouge Parish
      • This Anchorage is located in West Baton Rouge Parish and lies 1,162 miles [1,870.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the West Baton Rouge Parish community of Anchorage.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Anchorage is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 144 miles [231.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Anchorage.
      • Talbot County
      • This Anchorage is located in Talbot County and lies 135 miles [217.3 km] to the southwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talbot County community of Anchorage.
    • Mississippi
      • Coahoma 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 Mississippi community of Anchorage [Coahoma County].
      • Humphreys County
      • This Anchorage is located in Humphreys County and lies 1,034 miles [1,664.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humphreys County community of Anchorage.
    • Rhode Island
      • Newport 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 Rhode Island community of Anchorage [Newport County].
    • Texas
      • Atascosa County
      • This Anchorage is located in Atascosa County and lies 1,580 miles [2,542.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Atascosa County community of Anchorage.
    • Utah
      • Davis County
      • This Anchorage is located in Davis County and lies 1,973 miles [3,175.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Anchorage that is located in Ocean County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davis County community of Anchorage.
    • Wisconsin
      • Buffalo County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Anchorage [Buffalo County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Anchorage ...

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.

  • Cedar Bridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Bridge is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bridge
  • Cedar Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Cherry Quay
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherry Quay is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Quay
  • Evergreen Shores
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Evergreen Shores is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Shores
  • Green Island
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Green Island is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
  • Holiday City
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Holiday City is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
  • Island Beach Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Island Beach Heights is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Beach Heights
  • Maple Shade
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Maple Shade is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Shade
  • Pine Terrace
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Pine Terrace is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Terrace
  • Pleasant Plains
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Plains is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
  • Silver Bay
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Silver Bay is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Bay
  • Snug Harbor
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Snug Harbor is located in Ocean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snug Harbor

How Far From Anchorage to ...

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

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

  • Toms River, which is the Seat of Ocean County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Trenton, which is the State Capital of New Jersey, lies 35 miles [56.3 km]<1> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Anchorage to Trenton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 172 miles [276.8 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,728 miles [9,218.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,431 miles [10,349.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,309 miles [6,934.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>'

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- Anchorage) 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 Anchorage 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 Anchorage, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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.
<5>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 Anchorage 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 Anchorage. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0015, Longitude: -74.1426       In this case, the coordinates for Anchorage have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.097 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.579 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.038 degrees.