Amchitka (Alaska) - Tidbits, Odds-and-Ends

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Amchitka

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 Amchitka:
- 51.500418, 179.042341
- 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 Amchitka

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

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

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

Juneau, which is the State Capital of Alaska, lies 1,865 miles [3,001.4 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Amchitka to Juneau, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 106 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 73 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 4,694 miles [7,554.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take 10 days, a buggy would take 184 days and walking would take 267 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,273 miles [10,095.4 km] and it lies to the north northwest (NNW).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,821 miles [10,977.3 km] and it lies to the northwest (NW).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,929 miles [9,541.8 km] and it lies to the north (N).<6>

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Amchitka. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Alaska: alaska.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>	Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Amchitka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Amchitka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 51.5004, Longitude: 179.0423
<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 Amchitka to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<4>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 30.135 degrees.
<5>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 37.975 degrees.
<6>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 9.967 degrees.