Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fairbanks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fairbanks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fairbanks
- 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 Fairbanks:
- 47.224340, -117.215184
- 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 Fairbanks
- 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 Whitman County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Whitman County
- Since Fairbanks is near Spokane County and also Benewah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Spokane County
- eBird sighting report for Benewah 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 Fairbanks ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Fairbanks.
Within Washington, the name Fairbanks is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another 23 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 23 communities, 22 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Fairbanks lies 1,661 miles [2,673.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Fairbanks that is located in Whitman County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Graves County
- This Fairbanks is located in Graves County and lies 1,636 miles [2,632.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Fairbanks that is located in Whitman County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Graves County community of Fairbanks.
- Owen County
- This Fairbanks is located in Owen County and lies 1,738 miles [2,797 km] to the east of the Fairbanks that is located in Whitman County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Owen County community of Fairbanks.
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Kalkaska 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 Michigan community of Fairbanks [Kalkaska County].
- Oakland County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Fairbanks [Oakland County].
- Otsego County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Fairbanks [Otsego County].
- Minnesota
- New Mexico
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Fairbanks lies 2,785 miles [4,482 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Fairbanks that is located in Whitman County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Fairbanks ...
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.
- Cashup
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Crabtree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Eden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Freedom
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Lone Pine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Mount Hope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Spokane County
- Pine City ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Spring Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Spokane County
- Stringtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Spokane County
- Sunset
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Fairbanks and extending to:
- Colfax, which is the Seat of Whitman County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Fairbanks to Colfax, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days 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 267 miles [429.7 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,081 miles [3,349 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 82 days and walking would take 119 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,711 miles [10,800.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,478 miles [12,034.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,548 miles [8,928.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fairbanks. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Whitman County: www.whitmancounty.org/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fairbanks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fairbanks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2243, Longitude: -117.2152 In this case, the coordinates for Fairbanks 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks, 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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Fairbanks to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 336.653 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.513 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.47 degrees. |