Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hecla, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hecla and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hecla
- 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 Hecla:
- 45.881911, -98.151770
- 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 Hecla
- 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 Brown County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Brown County
- Since Hecla is near Dickey County and also Clark County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Dickey County
- eBird sighting report for Clark 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 Hecla ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Hecla.
Within South Dakota, the name Hecla is unique.
Beyond South Dakota, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, eleven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- This Hecla lies 369 miles [593.8 km]<1> to the north of the Hecla that is located in Brown County.
- Missouri
- Montana
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Schuylkill County
- This Hecla is located in Schuylkill County and lies 1,164 miles [1,873.3 km]<1> to the east of the Hecla that is located in Brown County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuylkill County community of Hecla.
- Westmoreland 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 Pennsylvania community of Hecla [Westmoreland County].
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hecla ...
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.
- Crete
(23 miles [37 km] to the north) - Ellendale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellendale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Ellendale is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,179 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellendale <5>
- Frederick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederick
- Frederick is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frederick <5>
- Frisby ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Glover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Glover is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Harlem ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast) - Kidder
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidder
- Kidder is located in Marshall County
- Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
- Silverleaf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Silverleaf. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverleaf
- Silverleaf is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Spain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Hecla 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 Hecla to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Hecla and extending to:
- Aberdeen, which is the Seat of Brown County, lies 32 miles [51.5 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Hecla to Aberdeen, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 148 miles [238.2 km] to the southwest (SW). 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 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,175 miles [1,891 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 67 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,327 miles [10,182.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,088 miles [11,407 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,021 miles [8,080.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hecla. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Brown County: www.brown.sd.us/
The official website for State of South Dakota: https://www.sd.gov/
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- Hecla) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hecla. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8819, Longitude: -98.1518 In this case, the coordinates for Hecla 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Hecla 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 Hecla, 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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 Hecla to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 321.827 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.305 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.145 degrees. |