RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Lincoln County >> Downs >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downs 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 Downs:
    • 47.371540, -118.397202
    • 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 Downs
  • 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 Lincoln County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
    • Since Downs is near Adams County and also Whitman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Adams County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Whitman 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 Downs

Communities Also Named Downs ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Downs.

Within Washington, the name Downs is unique.

Beyond Washington, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Macon County
      • This Downs is located in Macon County and lies 1,998 miles [3,215.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Downs.
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Downs is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 1,878 miles [3,022.3 km] to the east southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Downs.
    • Georgia
      • Warren County
      • This Downs is located in Warren County and lies 2,090 miles [3,363.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Downs.
      • Washington County
      • This Downs is located in Washington County and lies 2,101 miles [3,381.2 km] to the east southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Downs.
    • Illinois
      • McLean County
      • This Downs is located in McLean County and lies 1,534 miles [2,468.7 km]<1> to the east of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLean County community of Downs.
    • Kansas
      • Osborne County
      • This Downs is located in Osborne County and lies 1,129 miles [1,816.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osborne County community of Downs.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Downs is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 2,155 miles [3,468.1 km]<1> to the east of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Downs.
    • North Carolina
      • Durham County
      • This Downs is located in Durham County and lies 2,155 miles [3,468.1 km]<1> to the east of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Durham County community of Downs.
    • Oregon
      • Marion County
      • This Downs is located in Marion County and lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Downs.
    • South Carolina
      • Greenwood 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 South Carolina community of Downs [Greenwood County].
    • Texas
      • McLennan County
      • This Downs is located in McLennan County and lies 1,571 miles [2,528.3 km]<1> to the southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLennan County community of Downs.
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Downs is located in Salt Lake County and lies 568 miles [914.1 km]<1> to the southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Downs.
      • Weber County
      • This Downs is located in Weber County and lies 527 miles [848.1 km] to the southeast of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Downs.
    • West Virginia
      • Marion County
      • This Downs is located in Marion County and lies 1,962 miles [3,157.5 km]<1> to the east of the Downs that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Downs.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Downs ...

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.

  • Bluestem
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluestem is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluestem
  • Earl
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Earl is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
  • Fishtrap
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Fishtrap is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishtrap
  • Hillcrest
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hillcrest is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Keystone
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Keystone is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
  • Marlin
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Marlin is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlin
  • Moody
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Moody is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
  • Nemo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Nemo is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
  • Packard ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Packard is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packard
  • Palm Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Palm Lake is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Lake

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

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

  • Davenport, which is the Seat of Lincoln County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Downs to Davenport, with an average speed<3> 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.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 212 miles [341.2 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,137 miles [3,439.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 84 days and walking would take 122 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,723 miles [10,819.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,489 miles [12,052.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,572 miles [8,967.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<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 from Point A (ie- Downs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Downs 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>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 Downs 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 Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3715, Longitude: -118.3972       In this case, the coordinates for Downs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.623 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.648 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.215 degrees.