Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Topeka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Topeka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Topeka
- 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 Topeka:
- 31.415173, -90.188422
- 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 Topeka
- 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 Lawrence County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
- Since Topeka is near Lincoln County and also Walthall County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
- eBird sighting report for Walthall 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 Topeka ...
We found six communities that share the name Topeka.
Within Mississippi, the name Topeka is unique.
Beyond Mississippi, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Oklahoma
Curious and Interesting Names Near Topeka ...
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.
- Arm
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arm
- Arm is located in Lawrence County
- Blueberry Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blueberry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blueberry Hill
- Blueberry Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Bridges
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - China Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Grove
- China Grove is located in Walthall County
- Enterprise
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Lincoln County
- Fair River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair River
- Fair River is located in Lincoln County
- Hardscrabble ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardscrabble have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardscrabble
- Hardscrabble is located in Lawrence County
- Harmony
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Hartman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest) - Holly Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Holly Springs is located in Marion County
- Pricedale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Progress
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Topeka 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 Topeka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Topeka and extending to:
- Monticello, which is the Seat of Lawrence County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Topeka to Monticello, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Jackson, which is the State Capital of Mississippi, lies 61 miles [98.2 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 903 miles [1,453.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,794 miles [10,933.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,505 miles [12,078.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,381 miles [8,659.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Topeka. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Topeka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Topeka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4152, Longitude: -90.1884 In this case, the coordinates for Topeka 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 Topeka 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 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 Topeka 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 315.554 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.179 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.042 degrees. |