Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in California, we use the following websites to find information relevant to California and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for California
- 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 California:
- 40.062573, -79.893103
- 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 California
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since California is near Fayette County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland 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 California ...
We found twenty communities that share the name California.
There are three communities within Pennsylvania that are also named California.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, nineteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- Bucks County
- This California is located in Bucks County and lies 241 miles [387.9 km]<1> to the east of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bucks County community of California.
- Luzerne 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 Pennsylvania community of California [Luzerne County].
- Montour County
- This California is located in Montour County and lies 179 miles [288.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montour County community of California.
- Bucks County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Paulding County
- This California is located in Paulding County and lies 501 miles [806.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Paulding County community of California.
- Iowa
- Harrison 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 Iowa community of California [Harrison County].
- Kansas
- Coffey 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 California [Coffey County].
- Kentucky
- Campbell County
- This California is located in Campbell County and lies 245 miles [394.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Campbell County community of California.
- Louisiana
- Madison Parish
- 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 Louisiana community of California [Madison Parish].
- Maine
- Aroostook County
- This California is located in Aroostook County and lies 761 miles [1,224.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aroostook County community of California.
- Maryland
- Saint Mary's County
- This California is located in Saint Mary's County and lies 218 miles [350.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary's County community of California.
- Wicomico County
- This California is located in Wicomico County and lies 257 miles [413.6 km] to the east southeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wicomico County community of California.
- Michigan
- Branch County
- This California is located in Branch County and lies 286 miles [460.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Branch County community of California.
- Missouri
- Moniteau County
- This California is located in Moniteau County and lies 683 miles [1,099.2 km]<1> to the west of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Moniteau County community of California.
- North Carolina
- Dare County
- This California is located in Dare County and lies 367 miles [590.6 km]<1> to the southeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dare County community of California.
- Hertford County
- This California is located in Hertford County and lies 300 miles [482.8 km] to the south southeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hertford County community of California.
- Madison County
- This California is located in Madison County and lies 323 miles [519.8 km] to the south southwest of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of California.
- Pitt County
- This California is located in Pitt County and lies 331 miles [532.7 km] to the south southeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitt County community of California.
- Ohio
- Hamilton County
- This California is located in Hamilton County and lies 250 miles [402.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of California.
- Ontario
- This California lies 395 miles [635.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the California that is located in Washington County.
- Virginia
- Rockbridge County
- This California is located in Rockbridge County and lies 149 miles [239.8 km]<1> to the south of the California that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockbridge County community of California.
- Georgia
Curious and Interesting Names Near California ...
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.
- Century
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Coal Center
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Center
- Coal Center is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coal Center <4>
- Crescent Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Heights
- Crescent Heights is located in Washington County
- Daisytown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Daisytown is located in Washington County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daisytown <4>
- Long Branch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Smallwood
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Stockdale
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockdale
- Stockdale is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 500 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockdale <4>
- Twilight
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Walkertown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walkertown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Walkertown is located in Washington County
- Wood Run
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
How Far From California 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 community such as California to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in California and extending to:
- Washington, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from California to Washington, with an average speed<5> 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 most of a day.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 159 miles [255.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 172 miles [276.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,966 miles [9,601.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,682 miles [10,753.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,558 miles [7,335.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for California. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
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- California) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in California. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0626, Longitude: -79.8931 In this case, the coordinates for California have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 California 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'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 California to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.542 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.495 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.516 degrees. |