Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portage Bay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portage Bay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portage Bay
- 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 Portage Bay:
- 47.647500, -122.319444
- 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 Portage Bay
- 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 King County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for King County
- Since Portage Bay is near Kitsap County and also Snohomish County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kitsap County
- eBird sighting report for Snohomish 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 Portage Bay ...
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.
- Belltown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Edgewater ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Edgewater Park
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewater Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Park
- Edgewater Park is located in King County
- Green Lake
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
- Green Lake is located in King County
- Greenwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Mapleleaf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Meridian
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Queen Anne
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen Anne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen Anne
- Queen Anne is located in King County
- Sand Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Point
- Sand Point is located in King County
- University
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- University is located in King County
- University Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
- University Village is located in King County
- View Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for View Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for View Ridge
- View Ridge is located in King County
How Far From Portage Bay 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 Portage Bay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Portage Bay and extending to:
- Seattle, which is the Seat of King County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 50 miles [80.5 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Portage Bay to Olympia, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,319 miles [3,732.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,770 miles [10,895.3 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 7,532 miles [12,121.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,657 miles [9,104.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portage Bay. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Portage Bay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portage Bay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.6475, Longitude: -122.3194 In this case, the coordinates for Portage Bay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Portage Bay to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.865 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.421 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.747 degrees. |