RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kansas >> Riley County >> Bala >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Bala:
    • 39.309354, -96.949563
    • 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 Bala
  • 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 Riley County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Riley County
    • Since Bala is near Clay County and also Geary County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clay County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Geary 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 Bala

Communities Also Named Bala ...

We found two communities that are also named Bala.

Within Kansas, the name Bala is unique.

Beyond Kansas, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ontario
      • This Bala lies 968 miles [1,557.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bala that is located in Riley County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Montgomery County
      • This Bala is located in Montgomery County and lies 1,152 miles [1,854 km]<1> to the east of the Bala that is located in Riley County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Bala.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bala ...

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.

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

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

  • Manhattan, which is the Seat of Riley County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bala to Manhattan, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 70 miles [112.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,065 miles [1,714 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 61 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,642 miles [10,689.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,392 miles [11,896.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,289 miles [8,511.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Bala) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Bala 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 Bala. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3094, Longitude: -96.9496    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.683 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.171 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.808 degrees.