Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plaza, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plaza and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plaza
- 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 Plaza:
- 43.911277, -116.432911
- 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 Plaza
- 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 Gem County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gem County
- Since Plaza is near Boise County and also Payette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Boise County
- eBird sighting report for Payette 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 Plaza ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Plaza.
Within Idaho, the name Plaza is unique.
Beyond Idaho, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Calhoun 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 Plaza [Calhoun County].
- Ottawa County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Plaza [Ottawa County].
- New Jersey
- Burlington 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 New Jersey community of Plaza [Burlington County].
- Hudson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Jersey community of Plaza [Hudson County].
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Plaza ...
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.
- Eagle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
- Eagle is located in Ada County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle <4>
- Emmett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
- Emmett is located in Gem County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,269 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmett <4>
- French Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Corner
- French Corner is located in Payette County
- Horseshoe Bend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horseshoe Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Bend
- Horseshoe Bend is located in Boise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 822 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Horseshoe Bend <4>
- Little Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
- Little Rock is located in Gem County
- Marsh ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Pearl
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Pearl is located in Gem County
- Star
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Star have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Star is located in Ada County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,259 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Star <4>
- Sweet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet
- Sweet is located in Gem County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sweet <4>
How Far From Plaza 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 Plaza to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Plaza and extending to:
- Emmett, which is the Seat of Gem County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Boise City, which is the State Capital of Idaho, lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Plaza to Boise City, with an average speed<6> 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 most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,049 miles [3,297.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 4 days, a buggy would take 80 days and walking would take 117 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,905 miles [11,112.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,673 miles [12,348.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,712 miles [9,192.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plaza. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Gem County: www.co.gem.id.us/
The official website for State of Idaho: www.state.id.us/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Plaza) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plaza. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9113, Longitude: -116.4329 In this case, the coordinates for Plaza have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Plaza 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 Plaza, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Plaza to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 335.816 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.308 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.265 degrees. |