Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rifton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rifton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rifton
- 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 Rifton:
- 46.600699, -118.341084
- 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 Rifton
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Walla Walla County
- Since Rifton is near Franklin County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Rifton ...
We found one communities that share the name Rifton.
Within Washington, the name Rifton is unique.
Beyond Washington, there is another community also named Rifton in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rifton ...
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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Chew
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Clyde
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
- Harder
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Harvey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Powers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Relief
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Starbuck
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starbuck
- Starbuck is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Starbuck <3>
How Far From Rifton 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 Rifton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rifton and extending to:
- Walla Walla, which is the Seat of Walla Walla County, lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Rifton to Walla Walla, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over 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 217 miles [349.2 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,134 miles [3,434.3 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,771 miles [10,896.9 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 7,538 miles [12,131.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,614 miles [9,034.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rifton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Walla Walla County: www.co.walla-walla.wa.us/
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- Rifton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rifton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.6007, Longitude: -118.3411 In this case, the coordinates for Rifton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Rifton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.537 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.498 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.249 degrees. |