Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cranford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cranford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cranford
- 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 Cranford:
- 40.657752, -74.302381
- 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 Cranford
- 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Union County
- Since Cranford is near Middlesex County and also Essex County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- eBird sighting report for Essex 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Cranford ...
We found four communities that share the name Cranford.
Within New Jersey, the name Cranford is unique.
Beyond New Jersey, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Cranford lies 1,932 miles [3,109.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Cranford that is located in Union County.
- Georgia
- New York
- Ohio
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Cranford ...
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.
- Clark
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Crane Square
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crane Square have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane Square
- Crane Square is located in Union County
- Elizabeth
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
- Elizabeth is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128,382 people
- Gulfport
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Hillside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Liberty Square
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Square have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Square
- Liberty Square is located in Union County
- Maplewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Maplewood is located in Essex County
- Milltown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Overlook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Potters
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potters
- Potters is located in Middlesex County
- Scotch Plains
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotch Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotch Plains
- Scotch Plains is located in Union County
- Union
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Union is located in Union County
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Union Square
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Square have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Square
- Union Square is located in Union County
- Unionburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Woodland Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
- Woodland Park is located in Union County
- Wyoming
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Union Square
How Far From Cranford 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 Cranford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Cranford and extending to:
- Elizabeth, which is the Seat of Union County, lies just to the East.
- Trenton, which is the State Capital of New Jersey, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Cranford to Trenton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over 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 189 miles [304.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,708 miles [9,186.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,415 miles [10,323.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,291 miles [6,905.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cranford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Union County: www.unioncountynj.org/
The official website for State of New Jersey: https://www.state.nj.us/
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- Cranford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cranford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6578, Longitude: -74.3024 |
| <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 Cranford 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 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 Cranford to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.125 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.715 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.817 degrees. |