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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Kalama, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Kalama 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 Kalama:
    • 46.008946, -122.843390
    • 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 Kalama
  • 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 Cowlitz County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cowlitz County
    • Since Kalama is near Columbia County and also Clark County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Columbia County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Kalama

Curious and Interesting Names Near Kalama ...

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.

  • Apiary ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Apiary is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apiary
  • Bachelor Flat ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bachelor Flat is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelor Flat
  • Beaver Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Deer Island
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Fern Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Fern Hill is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Hill
  • Longview
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Longview Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Longview Junction is located in Cowlitz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Junction
  • Pigeon Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Pigeon Springs is located in Cowlitz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Springs
  • Rocky Point
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Point is located in Cowlitz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
  • Rose Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Trojan
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Trojan is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trojan

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

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

  • Kelso, which is the Seat of Cowlitz County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Kalama to Kelso, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 71 miles [114.3 km] to the north (N). 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 4 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,351 miles [3,783.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 134 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,885 miles [11,080.3 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 7,647 miles [12,306.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,766 miles [9,279.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<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 '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- Kalama) 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 Kalama 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 Kalama. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.0089, Longitude: -122.8434    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 341.217 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.749 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.201 degrees.