RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Mississippi >> Attala County >> Joplin >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Joplin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Joplin 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 Joplin:
    • 33.031241, -89.465351
    • 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 Joplin
  • 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 Attala County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Attala County
    • Since Joplin is near Leake County and also Winston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Leake County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Winston 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 Joplin

Communities Also Named Joplin ...

We found seven communities that are also named Joplin.

Within Mississippi, the name Joplin is unique.

Beyond Mississippi, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Montgomery County
      • This Joplin is located in Montgomery County and lies 251 miles [403.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Joplin that is located in Attala County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Joplin.
    • Missouri
      • Jasper County
      • This Joplin is located in Jasper County and lies 399 miles [642.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Joplin that is located in Attala County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Joplin.
    • Montana
      • Liberty County
      • This Joplin is located in Liberty County and lies 1,536 miles [2,472 km]<1> to the northwest of the Joplin that is located in Attala County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Joplin.
    • Nevada
      • Washoe County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Washoe County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washoe County community of Joplin.
    • Texas
      • Jack County
      • This Joplin is located in Jack County and lies 493 miles [793.4 km]<1> to the west of the Joplin that is located in Attala County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jack County community of Joplin.
    • Virginia
      • Prince William County
      • This Joplin is located in Prince William County and lies 775 miles [1,247.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Joplin that is located in Attala County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Prince William County community of Joplin.
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • This Joplin is located in Kanawha County and lies 569 miles [915.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Joplin that is located in Attala County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Joplin.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Joplin ...

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.

  • Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Center is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
  • Cowpen ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cowpen is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpen
  • Edgefield ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgefield is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
  • Ethel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Ethel is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
  • Gray
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Gray is located in Leake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
  • Gregory ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Gregory is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
  • Marvins Chapel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Marvins Chapel is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvins Chapel
  • Plantation
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Plantation is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantation
  • Providence
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Providence is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Tabernacle ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tabernacle is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
  • Vowell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Vowell is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowell

How Far From Joplin 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 Joplin 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 Joplin once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Joplin and extending to:

  • Kosciusko, which is the Seat of Attala County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Joplin to Jackson, with an average speed<3> 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 about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 803 miles [1,292.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 46 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,685 miles [10,758.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,399 miles [11,907.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,275 miles [8,489.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Joplin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Joplin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Joplin 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 Joplin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0312, Longitude: -89.4654       In this case, the coordinates for Joplin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.262 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.057 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.474 degrees.