Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sumter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sumter and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sumter
- 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 Sumter:
- 41.589455, -98.788416
- 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 Sumter
- 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 Valley County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Valley County
- Since Sumter is near Greeley County and also Wheeler County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Greeley County
- eBird sighting report for Wheeler 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 Sumter ...
We found four communities that share the name Sumter.
Within Nebraska, the name Sumter is unique.
Beyond Nebraska, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Minnesota
- South Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sumter ...
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.
- Comstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
- Comstock is located in Custer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Comstock <3>
- Elba
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Elba is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elba <3>
- Farwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
- Farwell is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farwell <3>
- Geranium ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Headquarters ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Headquarters have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headquarters
- Headquarters is located in Wheeler County
- Kent ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest) - Willow Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Garfield County
How Far From Sumter 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 Sumter to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sumter and extending to:
- Ord, which is the Seat of Valley County, lies just to the West.
- Lincoln, which is the State Capital of Nebraska, lies 120 miles [193.1 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Sumter to Lincoln, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 66 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,580 miles [10,589.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,337 miles [11,807.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,248 miles [8,445.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sumter. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Valley County: www.co.valley.ne.us/
The official website for State of Nebraska: www.nebraska.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sumter) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sumter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5895, Longitude: -98.7884 In this case, the coordinates for Sumter have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | 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 Sumter to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 322.129 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.128 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.365 degrees. |