Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in North Plains, we use the following websites to find information relevant to North Plains and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for North Plains
- 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 North Plains:
- 45.596980, -122.998250
- 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 North Plains
- 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 North Plains 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near North Plains ...
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.
- Blooming
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming
- Blooming is located in Washington County
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Christie ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Christie is located in Washington County
- Christie has also been known as:
- Carstens
- Cornelius
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornelius have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
- Davies Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davies Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies Junction
- Davies Junction is located in Washington County
- Forest Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- 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 <2>
- Forest Grove Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Grove Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Junction
- Forest Grove Junction is located in Washington County
- Greenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Washington County
- Kansas City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
- Kansas City is located in Washington County
- Merle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Plainview ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Rockcreek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Witch Hazel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Witch Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witch Hazel
- Witch Hazel is located in Washington County
How Far From North Plains 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 North Plains to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in North Plains and extending to:
- Hillsboro, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<3> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from North Plains to Salem, with an average speed<4> 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,360 miles [3,798.1 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 134 days.
- The shortest distance<5> 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).<6>
- 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).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,794 miles [9,324.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for North Plains: www.northplains.org/
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.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 'straight-line' (or 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- North Plains) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in North Plains. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.5970, Longitude: -122.9983 In this case, the coordinates for North Plains 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 North Plains 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 341.322 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.853 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.326 degrees. |