Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thera, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thera and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thera
- 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 Thera:
- 46.935998, -117.554639
- 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 Thera
- 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 Whitman County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Whitman County
- Since Thera is near Garfield County and also Adams County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Garfield County
- eBird sighting report for Adams 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thera ...
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.
- Cashup
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Crabtree
(18 miles [29 km] to the east) - Diamond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Dusty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Juno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - LaCrosse
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaCrosse
- LaCrosse is located in Whitman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaCrosse <2>
- Pine City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north) - Steptoe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steptoe
- Steptoe is located in Whitman County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steptoe <2>
- Sunset
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Swift
(18 miles [29 km] to the south) - Union Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Union Center is located in Whitman County
How Far From Thera 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 Thera to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Thera and extending to:
- Colfax, which is the Seat of Whitman County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Thera to Colfax, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 251 miles [403.9 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,097 miles [3,374.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 82 days and walking would take 120 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,736 miles [10,840.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<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 north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,573 miles [8,968.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thera. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Whitman County: www.whitmancounty.org/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thera) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thera. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9360, Longitude: -117.5546 In this case, the coordinates for Thera have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Thera 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 336.914 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.797 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.715 degrees. |