Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Surprise, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Surprise and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Surprise
- 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 Surprise:
- 42.392535, -73.950088
- 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 Surprise
- 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 Greene County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Greene County
- Since Surprise is near Albany County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Albany County
- eBird sighting report for Columbia 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 Surprise ...
We found ten communities that share the name Surprise.
Within New York, the name Surprise is unique.
Beyond New York, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, nine are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- British Columbia
- This Surprise lies 2,728 miles [4,390.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Surprise that is located in Greene County.
- California
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Grant 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 Surprise [Grant County].
- Hamilton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Surprise [Hamilton County].
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Surprise ...
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.
- Alcove
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcove
- Alcove is located in Albany County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alcove <4>
- Cairo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cairo have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Cairo is located in Greene County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <4>
- Climax
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
- Climax is located in Greene County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Climax <4>
- Freehold
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freehold have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freehold
- Freehold is located in Greene County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freehold <4>
- Gayhead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayhead
- Gayhead is located in Greene County
- Grapeville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grapeville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeville
- Grapeville is located in Greene County
- Greenville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Greene County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <4>
- Indian Fields
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Fields have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Fields
- Indian Fields is located in Albany County
- Limestreet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Limestreet have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestreet
- Limestreet is located in Greene County
- Paradise Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Hill
- Paradise Hill is located in Greene County
- Place Corners
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Place Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Place Corners
- Place Corners is located in Greene County
- Result
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Roberts Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roberts Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts Hill
- Roberts Hill is located in Greene County
How Far From Surprise 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 Surprise to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Surprise and extending to:
- Catskill, which is the Seat of Greene County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Surprise to Catskill, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 20 miles [32.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 290 miles [466.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,623 miles [9,049.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,336 miles [10,196.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,212 miles [6,778.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Surprise. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Surprise) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Surprise. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3925, Longitude: -73.9501 |
| <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 Surprise 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 Surprise, 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> | 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. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Surprise to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.717 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.536 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.867 degrees. |