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:
- 45.617776, -123.114411
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Banks is near Multnomah County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Multnomah County
- eBird sighting report for Columbia 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 Oregon, the name Banks is unique.
Beyond Oregon, 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 2,079 miles [3,345.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Banks that is located in Washington 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 2,197 miles [3,535.7 km] to the east southeast of the Banks that is located in Washington 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
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Banks lies 2,062 miles [3,318.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Banks that is located in Washington County.
- 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.
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Christie ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Christie is located in Washington County
- Christie has also been known as:
- Carstens
- Cornelius
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornelius have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelius
- Cornelius is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,116 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cornelius <5>
- Davies Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davies Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies Junction
- Davies Junction is located in Washington County
- Forest Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Forest Grove is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,442 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Grove <5>
- Gales Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gales Creek
- Gales Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gales Creek <5>
- Greenville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Washington County
- Hillside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Kansas City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
- Kansas City is located in Washington County
How Far From Banks 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 city such as Banks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Banks and extending to:
- Hillsboro, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Banks to Hillsboro, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 47 miles [75.6 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,366 miles [3,807.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 135 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,915 miles [11,128.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,677 miles [12,354.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,796 miles [9,327.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Banks. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.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- 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: 45.6178, Longitude: -123.1144 |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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'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 Banks 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 341.42 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.969 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.401 degrees. |