Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Surprise Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Surprise Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Surprise Valley
- 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 Surprise Valley:
- 42.954007, -123.309509
- 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 Surprise Valley
- 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 Douglas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Douglas County
- Since Surprise Valley is near Josephine County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Josephine County
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Surprise Valley ...
We found two communities that share the name Surprise Valley.
Within Oregon, the name Surprise Valley is unique.
Beyond Oregon, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Saskatchewan
- This Surprise Valley lies 990 miles [1,593.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Surprise Valley that is located in Douglas County.
- Washington
- Pierce County
- This Surprise Valley is located in Pierce County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the north of the Surprise Valley that is located in Douglas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pierce County community of Surprise Valley.
- Saskatchewan
Curious and Interesting Names Near Surprise Valley ...
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.
- Anchor ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Civil Bend ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Civil Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Civil Bend
- Civil Bend is located in Douglas County
- Dads Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dads Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dads Creek
- Dads Creek is located in Douglas County
- Days Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Creek
- Days Creek is located in Douglas County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Days Creek <3>
- Dole
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Fernvale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Fortune Branch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fortune Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fortune Branch
- Fortune Branch is located in Douglas County
- Galesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
- Galesville is located in Douglas County
- Nugget ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Peck
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Riddle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddle
- Riddle is located in Douglas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,216 people
- Former names for Riddle:
- Riddles
- Riddlesburg
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riddle <3>
- Round Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Prairie
- Round Prairie is located in Douglas County
- Weaver
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
How Far From Surprise Valley 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 Surprise Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Surprise Valley and extending to:
- Roseburg, which is the Seat of Douglas County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Surprise Valley to Roseburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 137 miles [220.5 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,399 miles [3,860.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 94 days and walking would take 137 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,092 miles [11,413.5 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 7,856 miles [12,643 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,957 miles [9,586.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Surprise Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Douglas County: www.co.douglas.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 '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- Surprise Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Surprise Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9540, Longitude: -123.3095 In this case, the coordinates for Surprise Valley 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 Surprise Valley 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 341.412 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.836 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.646 degrees. |