RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Dakota >> Ward County >> Minot >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Minot:
    • 48.232420, -101.295972
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Minot
  • 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 Ward County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ward County
    • Since Minot is near McHenry County and also Renville County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McHenry County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Renville 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Minot

Communities Also Named Minot ...

We found four communities that are also named Minot.

Within North Dakota, the name Minot is unique.

Beyond North Dakota, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maine
      • Androscoggin County
      • This Minot is located in Androscoggin County and lies 1,498 miles [2,410.8 km]<1> to the east of the Minot that is located in Ward County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Androscoggin County community of Minot.
    • Massachusetts
      • Plymouth County
      • This Minot is located in Plymouth County and lies 1,529 miles [2,460.7 km]<1> to the east of the Minot that is located in Ward County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Plymouth County community of Minot.
    • Mississippi
      • Sunflower County
      • This Minot is located in Sunflower County and lies 1,133 miles [1,823.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Minot that is located in Ward County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sunflower County community of Minot.
    • Montana
      • Valley 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 Montana community of Minot [Valley County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Minot ...

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.

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Minot and extending to:

  • Bismarck, which is the State Capital of North Dakota, lies 101 miles [162.5 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Minot to Bismarck, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,366 miles [2,198.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 78 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,286 miles [10,116.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,052 miles [11,349.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,015 miles [8,070.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Minot) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Minot, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Minot to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Minot. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.2324, Longitude: -101.2960    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 324.202 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 323.297 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.456 degrees.