Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bismarck, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bismarck and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bismarck
- 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 Bismarck:
- 34.316204, -93.170734
- 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 Bismarck
- 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 Hot Spring County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hot Spring County
- Since Bismarck is near Garland County and also Clark County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Garland County
- eBird sighting report for Clark 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 Bismarck ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Bismarck.
Within Arkansas, the name Bismarck is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bismarck ...
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.
- Elm ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Friendship
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Friendship is located in Hot Spring County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Hempwallace
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hempwallace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hempwallace
- Hempwallace is located in Garland County
- Kaiser Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaiser Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaiser Ferry
- Kaiser Ferry is located in Garland County
- Oak Bower
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Pettyview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Pleasant Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Garland County
- Red Oak
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Sunshine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Wayside ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
How Far From Bismarck 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 Bismarck to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bismarck and extending to:
- Malvern, which is the Seat of Hot Spring County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Bismarck to Malvern, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day 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 59 miles [95 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 947 miles [1,524 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,767 miles [10,890.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,496 miles [12,063.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,373 miles [8,647 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bismarck. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bismarck, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bismarck) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bismarck. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3162, Longitude: -93.1707 In this case, the coordinates for Bismarck have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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 Bismarck 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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Bismarck to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.723 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.09 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.838 degrees. |