RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Colorado >> Gilpin County >> Pactolus >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Pactolus:
    • 39.917765, -105.464441
    • 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 Pactolus
  • 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 Gilpin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gilpin County
    • Since Pactolus is near Boulder County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Boulder County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Pactolus

Communities Also Named Pactolus ...

We found five communities that are also named Pactolus.

Within Colorado, the name Pactolus is unique.

Beyond Colorado, we know of five communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Benton 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 Arkansas community of Pactolus [Benton County].
    • Kentucky
      • Carter County
      • This Pactolus is located in Carter County and lies 1,208 miles [1,944.1 km]<2> to the east of the Pactolus that is located in Gilpin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carter County community of Pactolus.
    • Nevada
      • Nye 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 Nevada community of Pactolus [Nye County].
    • North Carolina
      • Pitt County
      • This Pactolus is located in Pitt County and lies 1,563 miles [2,515.4 km]<2> to the east of the Pactolus that is located in Gilpin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitt County community of Pactolus.
    • Tennessee
      • Sullivan County
      • This Pactolus is located in Sullivan County and lies 1,263 miles [2,032.6 km]<2> to the east of the Pactolus that is located in Gilpin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Pactolus.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Pactolus ...

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.

  • Apex ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Apex is located in Gilpin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
  • Coal Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Coal Creek is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
  • Copperdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Copperdale is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copperdale
  • Crescent
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Crescent is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
  • Crescent Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Crescent Village is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Village
  • Lincoln Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Lincoln Hills is located in Gilpin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Hills
  • Nederland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nederland is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nederland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
    • Former names for Nederland:
    • Browns Crossing
    • Dayton
    • Middle Boulder
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nederland <3>
  • Silver Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Silver Springs is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
  • Switzerland Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Switzerland Park is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzerland Park
  • Tungsten ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Tungsten is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tungsten
  • Twin Spruce
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Twin Spruce is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Spruce
  • Whispering Pine
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Whispering Pine is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pine
  • Wideawake ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wideawake is located in Gilpin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wideawake
  • Wondervu
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Wondervu is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wondervu

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

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

  • Central City, which is the Seat of Gilpin County, lies just to the South Southwest.
  • Denver, which is the State Capital of Colorado, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<2> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Pactolus to Denver, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,511 miles [2,431.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 86 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,876 miles [11,065.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,639 miles [12,293.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,573 miles [8,968.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 Pactolus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Pactolus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Pactolus 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 Pactolus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9178, Longitude: -105.4644       In this case, the coordinates for Pactolus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 326.902 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.497 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.211 degrees.