Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Polaris, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Polaris and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Polaris
- 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 Polaris:
- 45.370079, -113.119667
- 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 Polaris
- 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 Beaverhead County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Beaverhead County
- Since Polaris is near Silver Bow County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Silver Bow 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 Polaris ...
We found three communities that share the name Polaris.
Within Montana, the name Polaris is unique.
Beyond Montana, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- California
- Idaho
Curious and Interesting Names Near Polaris ...
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.
- Apex
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east) - Birch Creek ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Creek
- Birch Creek is located in Beaverhead County
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Beaverhead County
- Elkhorn ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Elkhorn Hot Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkhorn Hot Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Hot Springs
- Elkhorn Hot Springs is located in Beaverhead County
- Frenchie Place
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frenchie Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchie Place
- Frenchie Place is located in Beaverhead County
- Gloss Place
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gloss Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloss Place
- Gloss Place is located in Beaverhead County
- Lion City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast) - Yankee Flat ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankee Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Flat
- Yankee Flat is located in Beaverhead County
How Far From Polaris 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 Polaris to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Polaris and extending to:
- Dillon, which is the Seat of Beaverhead County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Polaris to Dillon, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Helena, which is the State Capital of Montana, lies 99 miles [159.3 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,884 miles [3,032 km] to the east (E). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 74 days and walking would take 107 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,744 miles [10,853.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,513 miles [12,091 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,534 miles [8,906.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Polaris. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Polaris, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Polaris) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Polaris. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3701, Longitude: -113.1197 |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Polaris 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Polaris 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 333.254 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 333.429 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.089 degrees. |