Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Crystal Mountain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Crystal Mountain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Crystal Mountain
- 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 Crystal Mountain:
- 46.935991, -121.473872
- 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 Crystal Mountain
- 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 Pierce County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pierce County
- Since Crystal Mountain is near Yakima County and also King County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Yakima County
- eBird sighting report for King 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 Crystal Mountain ...
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.
- American River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for American River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for American River
- American River is located in Yakima County
- Cougar Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cougar Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cougar Valley
- Cougar Valley is located in Yakima County
- Goose Prairie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goose Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Prairie
- Goose Prairie is located in Yakima County
- Greenwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwater
- Greenwater is located in Pierce County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenwater <2>
- Lester ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Lester is located in King County
- Longmire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longmire
- Longmire is located in Pierce County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longmire <2>
- Maywood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north) - Paradise
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Sunrise
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
How Far From Crystal Mountain 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 community such as Crystal Mountain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Crystal Mountain and extending to:
- Tacoma, which is the Seat of Pierce County, lies 50 miles [80.5 km]<3> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Crystal Mountain to Tacoma, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 67 miles [107.8 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,282 miles [3,672.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 130 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,803 miles [10,948.4 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 7,566 miles [12,176.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,677 miles [9,136.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Crystal Mountain. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pierce County: www.co.pierce.wa.us/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.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 '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- Crystal Mountain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Crystal Mountain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9360, Longitude: -121.4739 |
| <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 Crystal Mountain 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 340.13 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.531 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.246 degrees. |