RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Montgomery County >> Colmar >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Colmar, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Colmar 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 Colmar:
    • 40.267329, -75.253508
    • 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 Colmar
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Colmar is near Bucks County and also Indiana County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bucks County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Indiana 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 Colmar

Communities Also Named Colmar ...

We found two communities that are also named Colmar.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Colmar is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • McDonough County
      • This Colmar is located in McDonough County and lies 822 miles [1,322.9 km]<1> to the west of the Colmar that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McDonough County community of Colmar.
    • Kentucky
      • Bell County
      • This Colmar is located in Bell County and lies 517 miles [832 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Colmar that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bell County community of Colmar.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Colmar ...

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.

  • Bramble Gate
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Bramble Gate is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramble Gate
  • Cowpath Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Cowpath Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpath Village
  • Cross Gate
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cross Gate is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Gate
  • Eureka
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
  • Forest Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest Park is located in Bucks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
  • Gristmill Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Gristmill Run is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gristmill Run
  • Heather Knoll
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Heather Knoll is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Knoll
  • Helen Marie Court
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Helen Marie Court is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Marie Court
  • Imperial Arms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Imperial Arms is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imperial Arms
  • Little Farm Trace Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Patriot Place
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Patriot Place is located in Bucks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patriot Place
  • Unionville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Unionville is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
  • Winners Circle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Winners Circle is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winners Circle
  • Yorkshire Commons
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Yorkshire Commons is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire Commons

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Colmar and extending to:

  • Norristown, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Colmar to Norristown, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 85 miles [136.8 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 133 miles [214 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,765 miles [9,277.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,471 miles [10,414.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,348 miles [6,997.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

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- Colmar) 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 Colmar 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 Colmar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2673, Longitude: -75.2535       In this case, the coordinates for Colmar have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.728 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.335 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.399 degrees.