RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oregon >> Clackamas County >> Molalla >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Molalla, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Molalla and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Molalla:
    • 45.074474, -122.554322
    • 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 Molalla
  • 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 Clackamas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clackamas County
    • Since Molalla is near Marion County and also Linn County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Marion County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Linn 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 Molalla

Curious and Interesting Names Near Molalla ...

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.

  • Dickey Prairie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Dickey Prairie is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickey Prairie
  • Dryland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dryland is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryland
  • Elliott Prairie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliott Prairie is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott Prairie
  • Fallsview
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Fallsview is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallsview
  • Liberal
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Macksburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Macksburg is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
  • Monitor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Monitor is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
  • Needy ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Noble ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Noble is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
  • Rural Dell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rural Dell is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Dell
  • Shady Dell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Shady Dell is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Dell
  • Timber Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Timber Grove is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Grove
  • Union Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Union Mills is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Molalla and extending to:

  • Oregon City, which is the Seat of Clackamas County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Molalla to Oregon City, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over 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.
  • Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 25 miles [40.2 km] to the west southwest (WSW). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,343 miles [3,770.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 134 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,942 miles [11,172.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,705 miles [12,400 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,813 miles [9,355.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>'

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- Molalla) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Molalla 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 Molalla. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0745, Longitude: -122.5543    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.922 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.36 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.067 degrees.