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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Wakpala:
    • 45.65721, -100.536416
    • 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 Wakpala
  • 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 Corson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Corson County
    • Since Wakpala is near Walworth County and also Campbell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Walworth County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Campbell 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 Wakpala

Curious and Interesting Names Near Wakpala ...

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.

  • Kenel
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Little Eagle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Maple Leaf
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Maple Leaf is located in Corson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Leaf
  • Mound City
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Pollock
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Promise
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Promise is located in Dewey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Promise
  • Snake Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Snake Creek is located in Corson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
  • Trail City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

How Far From Wakpala 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 Wakpala to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Wakpala and extending to:

  • McIntosh, which is the Seat of Corson County, lies 43 miles [69.2 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Wakpala to McIntosh, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,282 miles [2,063.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 50 days and walking would take 73 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,408 miles [10,312.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,172 miles [11,542.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,114 miles [8,230.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wakpala) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Wakpala 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 Wakpala. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.6572, Longitude: -100.5364    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 323.582 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 322.287 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.559 degrees.