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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Onalaska, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Onalaska and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Onalaska:
    • 46.575648, -122.719477
    • 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 Onalaska
  • 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 Lewis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lewis County
    • Since Onalaska is near Cowlitz County and also Thurston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cowlitz County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Thurston 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 Onalaska

Communities Also Named Onalaska ...

We found three communities that are also named Onalaska.

Within Washington, the name Onalaska is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Ouachita County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Onalaska [Ouachita County].
    • Texas
      • Polk County
      • This Onalaska is located in Polk County and lies 1,828 miles [2,941.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Onalaska that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Onalaska.
    • Wisconsin
      • La Crosse County
      • This Onalaska is located in La Crosse County and lies 1,532 miles [2,465.5 km]<2> to the east of the Onalaska that is located in Lewis County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the La Crosse County community of Onalaska.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Onalaska ...

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.

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

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

  • Chehalis, which is the Seat of Lewis County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Onalaska to Chehalis, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 33 miles [53.1 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,342 miles [3,769.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,846 miles [11,017.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,608 miles [12,243.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,729 miles [9,219.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Onalaska, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Onalaska) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Onalaska 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 Onalaska. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5756, Longitude: -122.7195    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 341.144 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.692 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.085 degrees.