Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Watkins, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Watkins and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Watkins
- 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 Watkins:
- 45.421595, -111.657750
- 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 Watkins
- 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- Since Watkins is near Gallatin County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Gallatin 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 Watkins ...
We found 26 communities that share the name Watkins.
There is one other community in Montana which is also named Watkins.
Beyond Montana, we know of another 25 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Montana ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Boone 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 Arkansas community of Watkins [Boone County].
- White 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 Arkansas community of Watkins [White County].
- Colorado
- Adams County
- This Watkins is located in Adams County and lies 530 miles [853 km]<1> to the southeast of the Watkins that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Watkins.
- Arapahoe 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 Colorado community of Watkins [Arapahoe County].
- Florida
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Dade County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Dade County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dade County community of Watkins.
- Miller County
- This Watkins is located in Miller County and lies 1,109 miles [1,784.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Watkins that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Miller County community of Watkins.
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Davidson 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 Tennessee community of Watkins [Davidson County].
- DeKalb County
- This Watkins is located in DeKalb County and lies 1,493 miles [2,402.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Watkins that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeKalb County community of Watkins.
- Texas
- Pecos 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 Texas community of Watkins [Pecos County].
- Terrell County
- This Watkins is located in Terrell County and lies 1,188 miles [1,911.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Watkins that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Terrell County community of Watkins.
- Van Zandt County
- This Watkins is located in Van Zandt County and lies 1,218 miles [1,960.2 km] to the southeast of the Watkins that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Zandt County community of Watkins.
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Watkins ...
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.
- Big Sky
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Sky have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sky
- Big Sky is located in Gallatin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Sky <5>
- Cowboys Heaven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cowboys Heaven have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowboys Heaven
- Cowboys Heaven is located in Madison County
- Indian Crossing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Crossing
- Indian Crossing is located in Madison County
- Junction ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Pony ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pony
- Pony is located in Madison County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pony <5>
- Red Bluff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Ruby
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west) - Strawberry ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strawberry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Strawberry is located in Madison County
- Stringtown ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Madison County
- Virginia City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Virginia City is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Former names for Virginia City:
- Varina
- Verina
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Virginia City <5>
How Far From Watkins 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 Watkins to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Watkins and extending to:
- Virginia City, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Watkins to Virginia City, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Helena, which is the State Capital of Montana, lies 82 miles [132 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 1,813 miles [2,917.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 71 days and walking would take 103 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,709 miles [10,797.1 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 7,478 miles [12,034.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,487 miles [8,830.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Watkins. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Watkins) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Watkins. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4216, Longitude: -111.6577 In this case, the coordinates for Watkins 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 Watkins, 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 Watkins 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <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 Watkins 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 332.097 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 332.089 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.187 degrees. |