Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thames, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thames and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thames
- 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 Thames:
- 29.680518, -82.692061
- 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 Thames
- 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 Gilchrist County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gilchrist County
- Since Thames is near Alachua County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alachua County
- eBird sighting report for Columbia 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 Thames ...
We found one communities that share the name Thames.
Within Florida, the name Thames is unique.
Beyond Florida, there is another community also named Thames in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thames ...
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.
- Bell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Bell is located in Gilchrist County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 510 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell <2>
- Cadillac
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Clark
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Forest Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Forest Grove is located in Alachua County
- Half Moon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Harvard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - High Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Springs
- High Springs is located in Alachua County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,280 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for High Springs <2>
- Jonesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Alachua County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonesville <2>
- Mutual
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Pinesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinesville
- Pinesville is located in Alachua County
- Waters Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Lake
- Waters Lake is located in Gilchrist County
How Far From Thames 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 Thames to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Thames and extending to:
- Trenton, which is the Seat of Gilchrist County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 108 miles [173.8 km]<4> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could drive a straight line from Thames to Tallahassee, with an average speed<5>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 713 miles [1,147.5 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,551 miles [10,542.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,230 miles [11,635.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,121 miles [8,241.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thames. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Gilchrist County: www.gilchrist.fl.us/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Thames 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thames) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thames. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.6805, Longitude: -82.6921 In this case, the coordinates for Thames have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Thames 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 311.077 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.751 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.602 degrees. |