Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fir Villa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fir Villa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fir Villa
- 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 Fir Villa:
- 44.928174, -123.274269
- 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 Fir Villa
- 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since Fir Villa is near Marion County and also Yamhill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- eBird sighting report for Yamhill 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 Fir Villa ...
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.
- Bowersville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bowersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowersville
- Bowersville is located in Polk County
- Ellendale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Ellendale is located in Polk County
- Falls City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
- Falls City is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,070 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Falls City <2>
- Fern Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Corner
- Fern Corner is located in Polk County
- Ferns ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,871 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Independence <2>
- Oak Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Salt Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salt Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Salt Creek is located in Polk County
- Tucker ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
How Far From Fir Villa 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 Fir Villa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Fir Villa and extending to:
- Dallas, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies just to the West.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Fir Villa to Salem, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,379 miles [3,828.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 136 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,963 miles [11,205.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,725 miles [12,432.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,840 miles [9,398.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fir Villa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Fir Villa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fir Villa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9282, Longitude: -123.2743 In this case, the coordinates for Fir Villa have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Fir Villa 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 341.513 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 343.045 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.541 degrees. |