Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Putnam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Putnam and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Putnam
- 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 Putnam:
- 44.784564, -123.284545
- 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 Putnam
- 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 Putnam is near Benton County and also Marion County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Benton County
- eBird sighting report for Marion 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 Putnam ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Putnam.
Within Oregon, the name Putnam is unique.
Beyond Oregon, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Barton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Putnam [Barton County].
- Harvey County
- This Putnam is located in Harvey County and lies 1,414 miles [2,275.6 km]<1> to the east of the Putnam that is located in Polk County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harvey County community of Putnam.
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- This Putnam lies 2,086 miles [3,357.1 km]<1> to the east of the Putnam that is located in Polk County.
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Putnam ...
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.
- Fern Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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 northwest) - Hopville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- 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 <5>
- Lewisville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewisville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Lewisville is located in Polk County
- Link
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Maple Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Maple Grove is located in Polk County
- Mitchell
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Pedee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Tarter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Putnam to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Putnam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Putnam once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Putnam and extending to:
- Dallas, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Putnam to Dallas, 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 16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast (NE). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,380 miles [3,830.2 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,972 miles [11,220.3 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 7,734 miles [12,446.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,849 miles [9,413.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Putnam) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Putnam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.7846, Longitude: -123.2845 In this case, the coordinates for Putnam have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Putnam 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 Putnam, 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 Putnam 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 341.513 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 343.038 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.555 degrees. |