Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cleft, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cleft and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cleft
- 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 Cleft:
- 43.239337, -115.850650
- 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 Cleft
- 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 Elmore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Elmore County
- Since Cleft is near Ada County and also Owyhee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ada County
- eBird sighting report for Owyhee 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 Cleft ...
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.
- Dixie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Dixie is located in Elmore County
- Grand View
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View
- Grand View is located in Owyhee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand View <2>
- Mountain Home
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Mountain Home is located in Elmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,526 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain Home <2>
- Neal ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest) - Orchard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Reclamation Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reclamation Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reclamation Village
- Reclamation Village is located in Elmore County
- Reverse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast) - Steamboat Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steamboat Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamboat Rock
- Steamboat Rock is located in Elmore County
How Far From Cleft 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 Cleft to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Cleft and extending to:
- Mountain Home, which is the Seat of Elmore County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Cleft to Mountain Home, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Boise City, which is the State Capital of Idaho, lies 31 miles [49.9 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,024 miles [3,257.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 4 days, a buggy would take 79 days and walking would take 115 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,935 miles [11,160.8 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 7,704 miles [12,398.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,732 miles [9,224.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cleft. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Elmore County: www.elmorecounty.org/
The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.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 '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- Cleft) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cleft. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2393, Longitude: -115.8507 In this case, the coordinates for Cleft 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 Cleft 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 335.295 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 335.649 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 323.955 degrees. |