Elephant Point (Alaska) - Tidbits, Odds-and-Ends

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

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 Elephant Point:
- 66.259722, -161.346111
- 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 Elephant Point

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 Elephant Point ...

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 Elephant Point, Candle is located 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the Southwest

How Far From Elephant Point to ...

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

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

Juneau, which is the State Capital of Alaska, lies 1,012 miles [1,628.7 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Elephant Point to Juneau, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 58 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 40 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 3,639 miles [5,856.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 8 days, a buggy would take 143 days and walking would take 207 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,602 miles [9,015.5 km] and it lies to the north northwest (NNW).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,274 miles [10,097 km] and it lies to the north northwest (NNW).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,953 miles [7,971.1 km] and it lies to the north (N).<6>

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

The official website for State of Alaska: alaska.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elephant Point) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elephant Point. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 66.2597, Longitude: -161.3461 In this case, the coordinates for Elephant Point have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Elephant Point 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 14.213 degrees.
<5>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 19.649 degrees.
<6>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 355.144 degrees.