Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bismarck, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bismarck and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bismarck
- 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 Bismarck:
- 46.805549, -100.767628
- 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 Bismarck
- 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 Burleigh County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Burleigh County
- Since Bismarck is near Morton County and also Oliver County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Morton County
- eBird sighting report for Oliver 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 Bismarck ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Bismarck.
Within North Dakota, the name Bismarck is unique.
Beyond North Dakota, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bismarck ...
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.
- Apple Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Valley
- Apple Valley is located in Burleigh County
- Arnold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Hay Creek Court
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hay Creek Court have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay Creek Court
- Hay Creek Court is located in Burleigh County
- Holiday Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Park
- Holiday Park is located in Burleigh County
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Lincoln is located in Burleigh County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,873 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincoln <5>
- Meadow Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Park
- Meadow Park is located in Morton County
- On-a-Slant Village ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for On-a-Slant Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for On-a-Slant Village
- On-a-Slant Village is located in Morton County
- Pierce
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Rock Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Haven
- Rock Haven is located in Morton County
- Sunny
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
How Far From Bismarck 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 city such as Bismarck to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bismarck and extending to:
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,312 miles [2,111.5 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Bismarck to White House, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 75 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,351 miles [10,220.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,116 miles [11,452.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,066 miles [8,152.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bismarck: www.bismarck.org/
The official website for Burleigh County: www.co.burleigh.nd.us/
The official website for State of North Dakota: https://www.nd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Bismarck) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bismarck. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8055, Longitude: -100.7676 In this case, the coordinates for Bismarck 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 Bismarck, 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 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 Bismarck 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> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Bismarck to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 323.783 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 322.652 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.454 degrees. |