Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Catalina, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Catalina and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Catalina
- 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 Catalina:
- 40.289256, -76.819694
- 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 Catalina
- 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 Dauphin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dauphin County
- Since Catalina is near York County and also Cumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for York County
- eBird sighting report for Cumberland 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 Catalina ...
We found three communities that share the name Catalina.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Catalina is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, .
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- California
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Catalina lies 1,294 miles [2,082.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Catalina that is located in Dauphin County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Catalina ...
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.
- Chartwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Haven Croft
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haven Croft have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven Croft
- Haven Croft is located in Dauphin County
- Kent Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Gardens
- Kent Gardens is located in Dauphin County
- Lakeview Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Heights
- Lakeview Heights is located in Dauphin County
- Locust Lane Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Lane Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lane Gardens
- Locust Lane Gardens is located in Dauphin County
- Pleasant Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
- Pleasant Hills is located in Dauphin County
- Poplar Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Gardens
- Poplar Gardens is located in Dauphin County
- Progress
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Ridgeview
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Rustic Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rustic Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rustic Hills
- Rustic Hills is located in Dauphin County
- Spring Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Dauphin County
- Twin Lakes
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Twin Lakes is located in Dauphin County
- Twin Lakes Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Lakes Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes Park
- Twin Lakes Park is located in Dauphin County
How Far From Catalina 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 Catalina to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Catalina and extending to:
- Harrisburg, which is the Seat of Dauphin County, lies just to the West.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies just to the west (W).
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 96 miles [154.5 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Catalina to White House, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,829 miles [9,380.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,540 miles [10,525.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,416 miles [7,106.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Catalina. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Catalina) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Catalina. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2893, Longitude: -76.8197 In this case, the coordinates for Catalina 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 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 Catalina 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 Catalina 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 307.662 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.397 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.071 degrees. |