Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Birch Bay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Birch Bay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Birch Bay
- 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 Birch Bay:
- 48.917793, -122.745063
- 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 Birch Bay
- 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 Whatcom County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Whatcom County
- Since Birch Bay is near San Juan County and also Skagit County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for San Juan County
- eBird sighting report for Skagit 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 Birch Bay ...
We found one communities that share the name Birch Bay.
Within Washington, the name Birch Bay is unique.
Beyond Washington, there is another community also named Birch Bay in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Manitoba
- This Birch Bay lies 1,079 miles [1,736.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Birch Bay that is located in Whatcom County.
- Manitoba
Curious and Interesting Names Near Birch Bay ...
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
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Blaine is located in Whatcom County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,638 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blaine <2>
- Cottonwood Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood Beach
- Cottonwood Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Crescent
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Delta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Fern Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern Ridge came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Ridge
- Ferndale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Ferndale is located in Whatcom County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,531 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferndale <2>
- Grandview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Haynie
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Kickerville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kickerville
- Kickerville is located in Whatcom County
- Mountain View
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Whatcom County
- Ocean Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Park
- Sunnyside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
How Far From Birch Bay 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 Birch Bay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Birch Bay and extending to:
- Bellingham, which is the Seat of Whatcom County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Birch Bay to Bellingham, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 129 miles [207.6 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,337 miles [3,761 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,694 miles [10,772.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,454 miles [11,996.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,593 miles [9,001.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Birch Bay. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Whatcom County: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.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- Birch Bay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Birch Bay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.9178, Longitude: -122.7451 |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
| <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 Birch Bay 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 341.272 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.956 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.927 degrees. |