Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sparkman, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sparkman and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sparkman
- 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 Sparkman:
- 33.917344, -92.850130
- 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 Sparkman
- 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 Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since Sparkman is near Clark County and also Ouachita County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clark County
- eBird sighting report for Ouachita 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 Sparkman ...
We found three communities that share the name Sparkman.
Within Arkansas, the name Sparkman is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sparkman ...
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.
- Gravel Junction
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravel Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Junction
- Gravel Junction is located in Clark County
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Heine ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Holly Springs is located in Dallas County
- Kansas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Nix ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Shakertown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shakertown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakertown
- Shakertown is located in Clark County
- Trace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Wave
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Sparkman 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 Sparkman to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sparkman and extending to:
- Fordyce, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sparkman to Fordyce, with an average speed<4> 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 most of a day.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 65 miles [104.6 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 942 miles [1,516 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,775 miles [10,903.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,502 miles [12,073.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,378 miles [8,655.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sparkman. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sparkman) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sparkman. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9173, Longitude: -92.8501 In this case, the coordinates for Sparkman have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Sparkman 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> | 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> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Sparkman to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.477 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.751 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.759 degrees. |