Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lake Tapps, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lake Tapps and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lake Tapps
- 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 Lake Tapps:
- 47.242298, -122.183776
- 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 Lake Tapps
- 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 Lake Tapps is near King County and also Kitsap County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for King County
- eBird sighting report for Kitsap 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 Lake Tapps ...
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.
- Black Diamond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Black Diamond is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,403 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Black Diamond <1>
- Cedarview
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Christopher
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
- Christopher is located in King County
- Federal Way
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Way
- Federal Way is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 96,307 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Federal Way <1>
- Firwood ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Gardenville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
- Gardenville is located in Pierce County
- Green River
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Green River is located in King County
- Kent
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Kent is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <1>
- Meeker
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Meridian Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian Heights
- Meridian Heights is located in King County
- Mirror Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mirror Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mirror Lake
- Mirror Lake is located in King County
- Prairie Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
- Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
- Stuck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Lake Tapps 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 Lake Tapps to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Lake Tapps and extending to:
- Tacoma, which is the Seat of Pierce County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Lake Tapps to Tacoma, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 36 miles [57.9 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,314 miles [3,724 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,795 miles [10,935.5 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 7,557 miles [12,161.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- 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).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lake Tapps. 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lake Tapps) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lake Tapps. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2423, Longitude: -122.1838 |
| <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 Lake Tapps 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 340.733 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.247 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.688 degrees. |