RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arkansas >> Washington County >> Sonora >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Arkansas


The Commemorative Quarter for Arkansas







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sonora, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sonora 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 Sonora:
    • 36.165320, -94.045417
    • 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 Sonora
  • 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 Sonora ...

We found seventeen communities that share the name Sonora.

Within Arkansas, the name Sonora is unique.

Beyond Arkansas, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Maricopa County
      • This Sonora is located in Maricopa County and lies 1,023 miles [1,646.4 km]<1> to the west of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Sonora.
      • Pinal County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arizona community of Sonora [Pinal County].
    • California
      • Tuolumne County
      • This Sonora is located in Tuolumne County and lies 1,451 miles [2,335.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuolumne County community of Sonora.
    • Illinois
      • Hancock County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Sonora [Hancock County].
    • Iowa
      • Poweshiek County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Sonora [Poweshiek County].
    • Kansas
      • Harper County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Harper County].
      • Lyon County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Lyon County].
      • Nemaha County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sonora [Nemaha County].
    • Kentucky
      • Hardin County
      • This Sonora is located in Hardin County and lies 459 miles [738.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hardin County community of Sonora.
    • Mississippi
      • Chickasaw County
      • This Sonora is located in Chickasaw County and lies 327 miles [526.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Sonora.
    • Missouri
      • Atchison County
      • This Sonora is located in Atchison County and lies 311 miles [500.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Atchison County community of Sonora.
    • New York
      • Steuben County
      • This Sonora is located in Steuben County and lies 995 miles [1,601.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Steuben County community of Sonora.
    • North Dakota
      • Richland County
      • This Sonora is located in Richland County and lies 697 miles [1,121.7 km]<1> to the north of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Sonora.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Sonora lies 1,779 miles [2,863 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
    • Ohio
      • Muskingum County
      • This Sonora is located in Muskingum County and lies 709 miles [1,141 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Sonora.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Butler County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Sonora [Butler County].
    • Texas
      • Sutton County
      • This Sonora is located in Sutton County and lies 541 miles [870.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Sonora that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sutton County community of Sonora.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sonora ...

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.

  • Accident
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Accident have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Accident
    • Accident is located in Benton County
  • Beau-O-Rama
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beau-O-Rama have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beau-O-Rama
    • Beau-O-Rama is located in Washington County
  • Cross Roads ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
    • Cross Roads is located in Washington County
  • Gulley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulley
    • Gulley is located in Washington County
  • Hickory Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
    • Hickory Creek is located in Benton County
  • Pilgrims Rest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pilgrims Rest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
    • Pilgrims Rest is located in Washington County
  • Pleasure Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasure Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasure Heights
    • Pleasure Heights is located in Benton County
  • Shady Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Shady Grove is located in Washington County
  • Silent Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silent Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silent Grove
    • Silent Grove is located in Benton County
  • Spring Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Spring Valley is located in Washington County
  • War Eagle Cove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War Eagle Cove
    • War Eagle Cove is located in Washington County

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

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

  • Fayetteville, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sonora to Fayetteville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 140 miles [225.3 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 948 miles [1,525.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,705 miles [10,790.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,442 miles [11,976.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,322 miles [8,564.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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

The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.ar.us/

The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.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- Sonora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sonora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1653, Longitude: -94.0454       In this case, the coordinates for Sonora have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Sonora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Sonora 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.
<4>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.
<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 Sonora 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 318.462 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.191 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.933 degrees.









 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 09 Mar 2024