Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Memphis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Memphis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Memphis
- 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 West Memphis:
- 35.153076, -90.198873
- 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 West Memphis
- 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 Crittenden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Crittenden County
- Since West Memphis is near Cross County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cross County
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Memphis ...
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.
- Greenlaw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Harvard
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - James Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County
- Louise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Mallory
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Marion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Crittenden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <2>
- Mound City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mound City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County
- Mounds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Redman Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redman Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redman Point
- Redman Point is located in Crittenden County
- Riceville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Sunset
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
How Far From West Memphis 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 city such as West Memphis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in West Memphis and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of Crittenden County, lies just to the North.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 120 miles [193.1 km]<3> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from West Memphis to Little Rock, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 769 miles [1,237.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,609 miles [10,636.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,333 miles [11,801.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,209 miles [8,383.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for West Memphis: www.ci.west-memphis.ar.us/
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Memphis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Memphis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.1531, Longitude: -90.1989 In this case, the coordinates for West Memphis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 West Memphis to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.884 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.065 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.386 degrees. |