Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in White Shield, we use the following websites to find information relevant to White Shield and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for White Shield
- 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 White Shield:
- 47.661393, -101.845168
- 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 White Shield
- 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 McLean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Since White Shield is near Mercer County and also Ward County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- eBird sighting report for Ward 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near White Shield ...
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.
- Beaver Creek ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beaver Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek is located in Mercer County
- Elbowoods ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Emmet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Independance ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Independance. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independance
- Independance is located in Dunn County
- Lucky Mound ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lucky Mound. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Mound
- Lucky Mound is located in McLean County
- Pick City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pick City
- Pick City is located in Mercer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Prairie Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Junction
- Prairie Junction is located in Mountrail County
- Red Butte ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Roseglen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseglen
- Roseglen is located in McLean County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roseglen <3>
- Twin Buttes
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Buttes
- Twin Buttes is located in Dunn County
How Far From White Shield 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 White Shield to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in White Shield and extending to:
- Washburn, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<4> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from White Shield to Washburn, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- Bismarck, which is the State Capital of North Dakota, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 1,378 miles [2,217.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 79 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,333 miles [10,192 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,099 miles [11,424.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,061 miles [8,144.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for White Shield. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for McLean County: www.visitmcleancounty.com/
The official website for State of North Dakota: www.nd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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- White Shield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in White Shield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.6614, Longitude: -101.8452 In this case, the coordinates for White Shield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 White Shield 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 324.609 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 323.695 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.909 degrees. |