RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Potomac, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Potomac 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 Potomac:
    • 46.881597, -113.579533
    • 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 Potomac
  • 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 Potomac ...

We found ten communities that share the name Potomac.

Within Montana, the name Potomac is unique.

Beyond Montana, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Vermilion County
      • This Potomac is located in Vermilion County and lies 1,359 miles [2,187.1 km]<1> to the east of the Potomac that is located in Missoula County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vermilion County community of Potomac.
    • Kansas
      • Linn County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Linn County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Linn County community of Potomac.
    • Maryland
      • Allegany County
      • This Potomac is located in Allegany County and lies 1,803 miles [2,901.6 km]<1> to the east of the Potomac that is located in Missoula County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Potomac.
      • Montgomery County
      • This Potomac is located in Montgomery County and lies 1,897 miles [3,052.9 km] to the east of the Potomac that is located in Missoula County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Potomac.
    • Nevada
      • Nye County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Nye County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nye County community of Potomac.
    • Virginia
      • Alexandria City
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Potomac [Alexandria City].
      • Prince William County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Potomac [Prince William County].
      • Stafford County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Potomac [Stafford County].
    • West Virginia
      • Mineral County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Potomac [Mineral County].
      • Ohio County
      • This Potomac is located in Ohio County and lies 1,704 miles [2,742.3 km]<1> to the east of the Potomac that is located in Missoula County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ohio County community of Potomac.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Potomac ...

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.

  • Beartown ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beartown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
    • Beartown is located in Granite County
  • Carols Court
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carols Court have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carols Court
    • Carols Court is located in Missoula County
  • Clearwater
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
    • Clearwater is located in Missoula County
  • Copper Cliff ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper Cliff have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Cliff
    • Copper Cliff is located in Missoula County
  • Iris
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iris have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iris
    • Iris is located in Missoula County
  • Milltown
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Nimrod
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nimrod have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
    • Nimrod is located in Granite County
  • Stump Town ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stump Town have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stump Town
    • Stump Town is located in Granite County
  • Sunset
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
    • Sunset is located in Missoula County
  • Twin Creeks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Creeks have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Creeks
    • Twin Creeks is located in Missoula County

How Far From Potomac 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 Potomac to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Potomac and extending to:

  • Missoula, which is the Seat of Missoula County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Potomac to Missoula, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day 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 76 miles [122.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,909 miles [3,072.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 75 days and walking would take 109 days.
  • The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,661 miles [10,719.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,429 miles [11,955.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,465 miles [8,795.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Potomac. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Missoula County: www.co.missoula.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Potomac) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Potomac. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8816, Longitude: -113.5795       In this case, the coordinates for Potomac have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Potomac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Potomac 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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>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.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>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.
<8>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 Potomac to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 333.704 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.074 degrees.
<11>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.205 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025