Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rainier Beach, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rainier Beach and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rainier Beach
- 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 Rainier Beach:
- 47.516766, -122.258178
- 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 Rainier Beach
- 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 Rainier Beach is near Kitsap County and also Pierce County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kitsap County
- eBird sighting report for Pierce 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 Rainier Beach ...
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.
- Cascade
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Coal Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Coal Creek is located in King County
- Five Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
- Five Corners is located in King County
- Gregory Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory Heights
- Gregory Heights is located in King County
- Highline
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Hillman City ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillman City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman City
- Hillman City is located in King County
- Hilltop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Holly Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Park
- Holly Park is located in King County
- Kennydale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Maplewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Maplewood Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maplewood Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood Heights
- Maplewood Heights is located in King County
- May Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Moorland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Skyway
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - South Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
- South Park is located in King County
- Maplewood
How Far From Rainier Beach 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 Rainier Beach to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Rainier Beach and extending to:
- Seattle, which is the Seat of King County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Rainier Beach to Olympia, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full 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 2,317 miles [3,728.9 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 6,778 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 7,540 miles [12,134.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,663 miles [9,113.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rainier Beach. 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rainier Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rainier Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5168, Longitude: -122.2582 In this case, the coordinates for Rainier Beach 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 Rainier Beach 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 340.808 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.348 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.717 degrees. |