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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Matthew, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Matthew 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 Matthew:
    • 46.557640, -118.536374
    • 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 Matthew
  • 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 Walla Walla County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Walla Walla County
    • Since Matthew is near Franklin County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Columbia 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 Matthew

Communities Also Named Matthew ...

We found three communities that are also named Matthew.

Within Washington, the name Matthew is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Morgan County
      • This Matthew is located in Morgan County and lies 1,888 miles [3,038.4 km]<1> to the east of the Matthew that is located in Walla Walla County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Matthew.
    • North Carolina
      • Iredell County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Matthew [Iredell County].
    • Tennessee
      • Putnam County
      • This Matthew is located in Putnam County and lies 1,835 miles [2,953.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Matthew that is located in Walla Walla County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Matthew.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Matthew ...

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.

  • Burr
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Burr is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr
  • Chew
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Chew is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chew
  • Clyde
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
  • Curry
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Curry is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry
  • Five Corners
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Five Corners is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
  • Harder
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Harder is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harder
  • Harvey
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Harvey is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
  • Lee
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Lee is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
  • Sulphur
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sulphur is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur

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

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

  • Walla Walla, which is the Seat of Walla Walla County, lies 35 miles [56.3 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Matthew to Walla Walla, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 208 miles [334.7 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 2,143 miles [3,448.8 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 6,778 miles [10,908.1 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 7,544 miles [12,140.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,621 miles [9,046.1 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Matthew) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Matthew, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Matthew 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 Matthew. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5576, Longitude: -118.5364       In this case, the coordinates for Matthew have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.695 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.678 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.378 degrees.