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 Opal:
34.539550, -93.989646
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.
We found thirteen communities that are also named Opal.
There are two communities within Arkansas that are also named Opal.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of eleven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
Communities Located In Arkansas ...
Lonoke County
This Opal is located in Lonoke County and lies 119 miles [191.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Opal.
White County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Opal [White County].
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Alabama
Conecuh County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Opal [Conecuh County].
Alberta
This Opal lies 1,636 miles [2,632.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
Michigan
Baraga County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Opal [Baraga County].
Missouri
Lawrence County
This Opal is located in Lawrence County and lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<1> to the north of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Opal.
New Mexico
Otero County
This community is historic<3> and although located in Otero County, we don't know where within the county.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otero County community of Opal.
South Dakota
Meade County
This Opal is located in Meade County and lies 843 miles [1,356.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meade County community of Opal.
Virginia
Fauquier County
This Opal is located in Fauquier County and lies 939 miles [1,511.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fauquier County community of Opal.
West Virginia
Nicholas County
This Opal is located in Nicholas County and lies 780 miles [1,255.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nicholas County community of Opal.
Wisconsin
Marathon County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Opal [Marathon County].
Wyoming
Lincoln County
This Opal is located in Lincoln County and lies 1,015 miles [1,633.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Opal that is located in Polk County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Opal.
Uinta County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming community of Opal [Uinta County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Opal ...
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.
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 Opal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Opal and extending to:
Mena, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Opal to Mena, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 99 miles [159.3 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 three full days and walking would take 6 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 983 miles [1,582 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,787 miles [10,922.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,519 miles [12,100.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,397 miles [8,685.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Opal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>
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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Opal 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.
<3>
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 Opal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Opal 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 Opal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5395, Longitude: -93.9896 In this case, the coordinates for Opal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.279 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.767 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.168 degrees.