RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Dakota >> Union County >> Elk Point >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Elk Point, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elk Point and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Elk Point:
    • 42.684652, -96.681415
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Elk Point
  • 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Union County
    • Since Elk Point is near Dixon County and also Plymouth County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dixon County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Plymouth 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Elk Point

Communities Also Named Elk Point ...

We found two communities that are also named Elk Point.

Within South Dakota, the name Elk Point is unique.

Beyond South Dakota, we know of two communities that are located 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 ...
    • Alberta
      • This Elk Point lies 1,009 miles [1,623.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Elk Point that is located in Union County.
    • Nevada
      • Douglas County
      • This Elk Point is located in Douglas County and lies 1,238 miles [1,992.4 km]<1> to the west of the Elk Point that is located in Union County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Elk Point.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elk Point ...

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.

How Far From Elk Point 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 city such as Elk Point to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Elk Point and extending to:

  • Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 217 miles [349.2 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Elk Point to Pierre, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,057 miles [1,701.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 60 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,453 miles [10,385.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,209 miles [11,601.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,118 miles [8,236.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elk Point) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Elk Point to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elk Point. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6847, Longitude: -96.6814    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.674 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.585 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.028 degrees.