Attu Island (Alaska) - Tidbits, Odds-and-Ends

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

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 Attu Island:
- 52.893163, 172.943802
- 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 Attu Island

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 Attu Island ...

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.

In the vicinity of Attu Island, Navy Town (now historic) was located 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the East

How Far From Attu Island to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Attu Island to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

Juneau, which is the State Capital of Alaska, lies 2,032 miles [3,270.2 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Attu Island to Juneau, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take 4 days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 116 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 80 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 4,841 miles [7,790.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take 10 days, a buggy would take 190 days and walking would take 275 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,053 miles [9,741.4 km] and it lies to the northwest (NW).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,581 miles [10,591.1 km] and it lies to the northwest (NW).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,780 miles [9,302 km] and it lies to the north northwest (NNW).<6>

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

The official website for State of Alaska: https://alaska.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- Attu Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Attu Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 52.8932, Longitude: 172.9438
<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 Attu Island 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 34.925 degrees.
<5>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 43.036 degrees.
<6>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 14.482 degrees.