Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Silica, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Silica and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Silica
- 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 Silica:
- 47.264659, -93.020753
- 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 Silica
- 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 Saint Louis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Louis County
- Since Silica is near Itasca County and also Aitkin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Itasca County
- eBird sighting report for Aitkin 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 Silica ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Silica.
Within Minnesota, the name Silica is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Silica lies 1,145 miles [1,842.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Silica that is located in Saint Louis County.
- Kansas
- Phillips 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 Kansas community of Silica [Phillips County].
- Rice County
- This Silica is located in Rice County and lies 673 miles [1,083.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Silica that is located in Saint Louis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rice County community of Silica.
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Ohio
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- British Columbia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Silica ...
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.
- Elmer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Goodland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Hull
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Kelly Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelly Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Lake
- Kelly Lake is located in Saint Louis County
- Little Swan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Swan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Swan
- Little Swan is located in Saint Louis County
- Marble
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marble have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble
- Marble is located in Itasca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marble <4>
- Mitchell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Ruby Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby Junction
- Ruby Junction is located in Saint Louis County
- Silverwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverwood
- Silverwood is located in Itasca County
- Swan River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swan River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan River
- Swan River is located in Itasca County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swan River <4>
How Far From Silica 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 Silica to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Silica and extending to:
- Duluth, which is the Seat of Saint Louis County, lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Silica to Duluth, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 159 miles [255.9 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 988 miles [1,590 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,097 miles [9,812.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,855 miles [11,032.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,775 miles [7,684.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Silica. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Silica) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Silica. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2647, Longitude: -93.0208 In this case, the coordinates for Silica 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 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 Silica 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> | 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Silica 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 318.10 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.245 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.868 degrees. |