Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fort Thompson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fort Thompson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Thompson
- 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 Fort Thompson:
- 44.068601, -99.437885
- 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 Fort Thompson
- 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 Buffalo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buffalo County
- Since Fort Thompson is near Lyman County and also Brule County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lyman County
- eBird sighting report for Brule 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 Fort Thompson ...
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.
- Chamberlain
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chamberlain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
- Chamberlain is located in Brule County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,348 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chamberlain <2>
- Council House
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council House have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council House
- Council House is located in Lyman County
- Crow Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Creek
- Crow Creek is located in Buffalo County
- Grandview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south) - Lees Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lees Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Corner
- Lees Corner is located in Buffalo County
- Lyonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast) - Reliance
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reliance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Reliance is located in Lyman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reliance <2>
- Sweetland ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Fort Thompson 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 Fort Thompson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Fort Thompson and extending to:
- Gann Valley, which is the Seat of Buffalo County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Fort Thompson to Gann Valley, 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 most of a day.
- Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 48 miles [77.2 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,208 miles [1,944.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 69 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,464 miles [10,402.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,225 miles [11,627.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,152 miles [8,291.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fort Thompson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fort Thompson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Thompson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0686, Longitude: -99.4379 In this case, the coordinates for Fort Thompson 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 Fort Thompson 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 322.718 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 321.106 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.254 degrees. |