RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Utah >> Salt Lake County >> Salt Lake City >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Salt Lake City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City:
    • 40.760691, -111.899700
    • 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 Salt Lake City
  • 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 Salt Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Salt Lake County
    • Since Salt Lake City is near Davis County and also Summit County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Davis County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Summit 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 Salt Lake City

Curious and Interesting Names Near Salt Lake City ...

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.

  • Blaine
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Blaine is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
  • Bullock
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Bullock is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock
  • Cannon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cannon is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
  • Capitol
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Capitol is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol
  • Catherine Circle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Catherine Circle is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine Circle
  • City Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • City Park is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City Park
  • Colorado
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Colorado is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colorado
  • Edwards
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Edwards is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
  • Ensign Downs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ensign Downs is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensign Downs
  • Ensign Downs Place
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ensign Downs Place is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensign Downs Place
  • Fountain Place
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Fountain Place is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Place
  • Foxs
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Foxs is located in Salt Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxs
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Franklin
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Franklin is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Glenn
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Glenn is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn
    • Golden Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Golden Park is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Park
    • Grand View
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Grand View is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View
    • Granite
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Granite is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite
    • Great Westside
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Great Westside is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Westside
    • High Avenue
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • High Avenue is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Avenue
    • Holland
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Holland is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
    • Hunters
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Hunters is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters
    • Jones
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Jones is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
    • Jordan Place
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Jordan Place is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Place
    • Lake View
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Lake View is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
    • Lincoln Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincoln Park is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
    • Lincoln Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincoln Village is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Village
    • Martins
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Martins is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins
    • Mead Circle
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Mead Circle is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mead Circle
    • Panorama
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Panorama is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama
    • Perrys Hollow
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Perrys Hollow is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrys Hollow
    • Poplar Place
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Poplar Place is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Place
    • Pratts
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pratts is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratts
    • Rock Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock Springs is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
    • Rural
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Rural is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
    • Sharp
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sharp is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp
    • Silver Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Silver Park is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Park
    • Snow
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Snow is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow
    • Superior
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Superior is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
    • Syndicate Place
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Syndicate Place is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syndicate Place
    • Temple View
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Temple View is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple View
    • Thorn
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Thorn is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn
    • University
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • University is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
    • Victory Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Victory Village is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Village
    • Virginia Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Virginia Heights is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Heights
    • Wahoo
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Wahoo is located in Salt Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo

How Far From Salt Lake City to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Salt Lake City to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,841 miles [2,962.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Salt Lake City to White House, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 105 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 72 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,999 miles [11,263.8 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 7,767 miles [12,499.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,746 miles [9,247.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Salt Lake City) 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 Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7607, Longitude: -111.8997    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 331.931 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 331.493 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.773 degrees.