Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Banks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Banks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Banks
- 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 Banks:
- 48.037573, -103.194203
- 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 Banks
- 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 McKenzie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McKenzie County
- Since Banks is near Williams County and also Mountrail County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Williams County
- eBird sighting report for Mountrail 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 Banks ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Banks.
Within North Dakota, the name Banks is unique.
Beyond North Dakota, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Bibb County
- This Banks is located in Bibb County and lies 1,321 miles [2,125.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Banks that is located in McKenzie County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Banks.
- Pike County
- This Banks is located in Pike County and lies 1,442 miles [2,320.7 km] to the southeast of the Banks that is located in McKenzie County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Banks.
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ontario
- This Banks lies 1,113 miles [1,791.2 km]<1> to the east of the Banks that is located in McKenzie County.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Banks ...
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.
- Charbonneau
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charbonneau
- Charbonneau is located in McKenzie County
- Four Bears Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Bears Village
- Four Bears Village is located in McKenzie County
- Hawkeye
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Lake Jessie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jessie
- Lake Jessie is located in Williams County
- Springbrook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
- Springbrook is located in Williams County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Temple
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
How Far From Banks 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 Banks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Banks once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Banks and extending to:
- Watford City, which is the Seat of McKenzie County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Banks to Watford City, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Bismarck, which is the State Capital of North Dakota, lies 141 miles [226.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,445 miles [2,325.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 57 days and walking would take 83 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,347 miles [10,214.5 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 7,114 miles [11,448.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,086 miles [8,185.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of North Dakota: www.nd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Banks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Banks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.0376, Longitude: -103.1942 In this case, the coordinates for Banks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Banks 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. |
| <3> | 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 Banks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Banks 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 325.64 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.915 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.64 degrees. |