Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Topaz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Topaz and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Topaz
- 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 Topaz:
- 42.627140, -112.085518
- 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 Topaz
- 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 Bannock County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bannock County
- Since Topaz is near Caribou County and also Power County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Caribou County
- eBird sighting report for Power 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 Topaz ...
We found seven communities that share the name Topaz.
There is one other community in Idaho which is also named Topaz.
Beyond Idaho, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Idaho ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Texas
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Topaz ...
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.
- Central
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - China Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Hill
- China Hill is located in Caribou County
- Hatch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast) - Lava Hot Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lava Hot Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava Hot Springs
- Lava Hot Springs is located in Bannock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lava Hot Springs <5>
- Marsh Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marsh Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Valley
- Marsh Valley is located in Bannock County
- Pebble
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Robin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robin
- Robin is located in Bannock County
- Telluride
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east) - Virginia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Topaz to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Topaz to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Topaz once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Topaz and extending to:
- Pocatello, which is the Seat of Bannock County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Topaz to Pocatello, 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.
- Boise City, which is the State Capital of Idaho, lies 218 miles [350.8 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,837 miles [2,956.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 72 days and walking would take 105 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,889 miles [11,086.8 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 7,658 miles [12,324.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,651 miles [9,094.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bannock County: www.co.bannock.id.us/
The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.gov/
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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Topaz 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Topaz) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Topaz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6271, Longitude: -112.0855 In this case, the coordinates for Topaz have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Topaz, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Topaz 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 332.241 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 332.017 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.731 degrees. |