Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thomson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thomson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thomson
- 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 Thomson:
- 46.667639, -92.389950
- 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 Thomson
- 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 Carlton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Carlton County
- Since Thomson is near Saint Louis County and also Douglas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Louis County
- eBird sighting report for Douglas 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 Thomson ...
We found four communities that share the name Thomson.
Within Minnesota, the name Thomson is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- New York
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thomson ...
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.
- Blackhoof
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Dewey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Five Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
- Five Corners is located in Saint Louis County
- Gary
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Hermantown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermantown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermantown
- Hermantown is located in Saint Louis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,504 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermantown <3>
- Oliver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Otter Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
- Riverview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
How Far From Thomson 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 city such as Thomson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Thomson and extending to:
- Carlton, which is the Seat of Carlton County, lies just to the West.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Thomson to Saint Paul, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 942 miles [1,516 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,107 miles [9,828.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,864 miles [11,046.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,778 miles [7,689.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thomson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Carlton County: www.co.carlton.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 'straight-line' (or 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- Thomson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thomson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.6676, Longitude: -92.3899 In this case, the coordinates for Thomson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Thomson 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 317.659 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.664 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.686 degrees. |