Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plaza, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plaza and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plaza
- 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 Plaza:
- 47.320172, -117.383805
- 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 Plaza
- 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 Spokane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Spokane County
- Since Plaza is near Whitman County and also Benewah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Whitman 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 Plaza ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Plaza.
Within Washington, the name Plaza is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Calhoun 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 Plaza [Calhoun County].
- Ottawa 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 Plaza [Ottawa County].
- New Jersey
- Burlington 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 New Jersey community of Plaza [Burlington County].
- Hudson 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 New Jersey community of Plaza [Hudson County].
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Plaza ...
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.
- Dynamite
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Freedom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Lone Pine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Mock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Mount Hope
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Spangle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangle
- Spangle is located in Spokane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spangle <5>
- Spring Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Spokane County
- Sunset
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
How Far From Plaza 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 Plaza to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Plaza and extending to:
- Spokane, which is the Seat of Spokane County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Plaza to Spokane, with an average speed<6> 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 259 miles [416.8 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 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,089 miles [3,361.9 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,708 miles [10,795.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,475 miles [12,029.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,547 miles [8,927 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plaza. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Spokane County: www.spokanecounty.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 '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- Plaza) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plaza. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3202, Longitude: -117.3838 In this case, the coordinates for Plaza 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Plaza 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 Plaza, 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Plaza to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 336.795 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.684 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.569 degrees. |