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 Spion Kop:
47.284965, -110.617161
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.
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 Judith Basin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
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.
Belt (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
Surprise Creek Colony is located in Judith Basin County
How Far From Spion Kop 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 Spion Kop to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Spion Kop and extending to:
Stanford, which is the Seat of Judith Basin County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Spion Kop to Stanford, with an average speed<4> 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 81 miles [130.4 km] to the southwest (SW). 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 1,773 miles [2,853.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 70 days and walking would take 101 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,572 miles [10,576.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,341 miles [11,814.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,356 miles [8,619.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
<1>
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.
<2>
While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>
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- Spion Kop) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spion Kop. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2850, Longitude: -110.6172 In this case, the coordinates for Spion Kop have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Spion Kop 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 331.371 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 331.414 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 320.307 degrees.