RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arkansas >> Montgomery County >> Joplin >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Joplin:
    • 34.542050, -93.452894
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Joplin
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Joplin is near Garland County and also Hot Spring County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Garland County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hot Spring 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Joplin

Communities Also Named Joplin ...

We found seven communities that are also named Joplin.

Within Arkansas, the name Joplin is unique.

Beyond Arkansas, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Mississippi
      • Attala County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Joplin [Attala County].
    • Missouri
      • Jasper County
      • This Joplin is located in Jasper County and lies 185 miles [297.7 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Joplin that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Joplin.
    • Montana
      • Liberty County
      • This Joplin is located in Liberty County and lies 1,312 miles [2,111.5 km]<2> to the northwest of the Joplin that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Joplin.
    • Nevada
      • Washoe County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Washoe County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washoe County community of Joplin.
    • Texas
      • Jack County
      • This Joplin is located in Jack County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Joplin that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jack County community of Joplin.
    • Virginia
      • Prince William County
      • This Joplin is located in Prince William County and lies 932 miles [1,499.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Joplin that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Prince William County community of Joplin.
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • This Joplin is located in Kanawha County and lies 703 miles [1,131.4 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Joplin that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Joplin.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Joplin ...

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.

  • Bucksville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bucksville is located in Garland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksville
  • Buddys Landing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Buddys Landing is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buddys Landing
  • Crystal Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Crystal Springs is located in Garland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
  • Fir ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hurricane Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Hurricane Grove is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Grove
  • Little Fir Landing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Little Fir Landing is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Fir Landing
  • Lucky ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lucky is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
  • Peak
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Peak is located in Garland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peak
  • Ruble
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ruble is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruble
  • Silver
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Silver is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver
  • Sweethome
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Sweethome is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweethome

How Far From Joplin 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 Joplin to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Mount Ida, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Joplin to Mount Ida, with an average speed<3> 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.
  • Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 955 miles [1,536.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 55 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,766 miles [10,888.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,497 miles [12,065.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,374 miles [8,648.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Joplin, 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- Joplin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Joplin to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Joplin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5421, Longitude: -93.4529    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.928 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.358 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.927 degrees.