Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Topaz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Topaz and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Topaz
- 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 Topaz:
- 35.036482, -90.359265
- 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 Topaz
- 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 Crittenden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Crittenden County
- Since Topaz is near Saint Francis County and also Cross County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Francis County
- eBird sighting report for Cross 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 Topaz ...
We found seven communities that share the name Topaz.
Within Arkansas, the name Topaz is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Idaho
- Bannock 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 Idaho community of Topaz [Bannock County].
- Bingham 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 Idaho community of Topaz [Bingham County].
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Texas
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Topaz ...
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.
- Blue Goose ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Goose have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Goose
- Blue Goose is located in Shelby County (TN)
- Democrat
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Greasy Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greasy Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greasy Corner
- Greasy Corner is located in Saint Francis County
- Horseshoe Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Lake
- Horseshoe Lake is located in Crittenden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Hughes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
- Hughes is located in Saint Francis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,200 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hughes <5>
- Kate
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Louise
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Mallory Spur
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallory Spur have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory Spur
- Mallory Spur is located in Crittenden County
- Mounds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - New Shady Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Shady Grove
- New Shady Grove is located in Saint Francis County
- Red Gum Farm
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Gum Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Gum Farm
- Red Gum Farm is located in Saint Francis County
- Riceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Shell Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Shell Lake is located in Saint Francis County
- Wildwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Topaz 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 Topaz to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Topaz and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of Crittenden County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Topaz to Marion, with an average speed<6> 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 four to five hours.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 109 miles [175.4 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 780 miles [1,255.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,621 miles [10,655.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,346 miles [11,822.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,221 miles [8,402.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Topaz. 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Topaz) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Topaz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0365, Longitude: -90.3593 In this case, the coordinates for Topaz 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 Topaz, 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 Topaz 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Topaz to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.978 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.158 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.478 degrees. |