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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for Montana





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sun River, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sun River and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Sun River:
    • 47.533461, -111.720986
    • 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 Sun River
  • 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sun River ...

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.

  • Black Eagle
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Eagle
    • Black Eagle is located in Cascade County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Black Eagle <2>
  • Cascade
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Flood ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flood
    • Flood is located in Cascade County
  • Gordon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Gordon is located in Cascade County
  • Great Falls
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Greenfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Johnstown ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
    • Johnstown is located in Cascade County
  • Little Chicago ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Chicago have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Chicago
    • Little Chicago is located in Cascade County
  • Power
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Power have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power
    • Power is located in Teton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Power <2>
  • Smelter Hill
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smelter Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smelter Hill
    • Smelter Hill is located in Cascade County

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Sun River and extending to:

  • Great Falls, which is the Seat of Cascade County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Sun River to Great Falls, 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 66 miles [106.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,826 miles [2,938.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 72 days and walking would take 104 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,581 miles [10,591.1 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 7,350 miles [11,828.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,375 miles [8,650.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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

The official website for Cascade County: www.co.cascade.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sun River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sun River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5335, Longitude: -111.7210       In this case, the coordinates for Sun River 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 Sun River 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 332.255 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 332.455 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 320.96 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025