RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Rhode Island >> Washington County >> Columbia Heights >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Columbia Heights:
    • 41.442323, -71.638119
    • 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 Columbia Heights
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Columbia Heights is near New London County and also Newport County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for New London County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Newport 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 Columbia Heights

Communities Also Named Columbia Heights ...

We found eleven communities that are also named Columbia Heights.

Within Rhode Island, the name Columbia Heights is unique.

Beyond Rhode Island, we know of eleven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Columbia County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Columbia County and lies 791 miles [1,273 km]<1> to the southwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Columbia Heights.
      • Muscogee County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Muscogee County and lies 957 miles [1,540.1 km] to the southwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muscogee County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Louisiana
      • Caldwell Parish
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Caldwell Parish and lies 1,297 miles [2,087.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caldwell Parish community of Columbia Heights.
    • Minnesota
      • Anoka County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Anoka County and lies 1,111 miles [1,788 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anoka County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Montana
      • Flathead 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 Montana community of Columbia Heights [Flathead County].
    • North Carolina
      • Forsyth County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Forsyth County and lies 591 miles [951.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Forsyth County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Ohio
      • Butler County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Butler County and lies 694 miles [1,116.9 km]<1> to the west of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Oregon
      • Columbia County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Columbia County and lies 2,531 miles [4,073.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Texas
      • Bexar County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Bexar County and lies 1,717 miles [2,763.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bexar County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Virginia
      • Arlington County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Arlington County and lies 339 miles [545.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Arlington County community of Columbia Heights.
    • Washington
      • Cowlitz County
      • This Columbia Heights is located in Cowlitz County and lies 2,532 miles [4,074.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Columbia Heights that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cowlitz County community of Columbia Heights.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Columbia Heights ...

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.

  • Barberville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Barberville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberville
  • Centerville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Green Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Hill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
  • Hope Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hope Valley is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley
  • Jerusalem
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jerusalem is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem
  • Liberty
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Locustville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Locustville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locustville
  • Moscow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Moscow is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
  • Peace Dale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Peace Dale is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Dale
  • Rockville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
  • Rocky Brook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Rocky Brook is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Brook
  • Rodman Crossing ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Rodman Crossing is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman Crossing
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Shady Harbor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Shady Harbor is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Harbor
    • Shelter Harbor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Shelter Harbor is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Harbor
    • Snug Harbor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Snug Harbor is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snug Harbor
    • Tuckertown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Tuckertown is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckertown
    • Tug Hollow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Tug Hollow is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tug Hollow
    • Wood River Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Wood River Junction is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River Junction
    • Wyoming
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyoming is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming

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

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

  • Wakefield, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the East.
  • Providence, which is the State Capital of Rhode Island, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Columbia Heights to Providence, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 334 miles [537.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,564 miles [8,954.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,268 miles [10,087.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,145 miles [6,670.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Columbia Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Columbia Heights 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>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.
<4>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 Columbia Heights 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 Columbia Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4423, Longitude: -71.6381       In this case, the coordinates for Columbia Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.452 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.954 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.289 degrees.