Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Surprise Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Surprise Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Surprise Valley
- 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 Surprise Valley:
- 46.930381, -122.232891
- 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 Surprise Valley
- 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 Pierce County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pierce County
- Since Surprise Valley is near Lewis County and also Thurston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lewis County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Surprise Valley ...
We found two communities that share the name Surprise Valley.
Within Washington, the name Surprise Valley is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Oregon
- Douglas County
- This Surprise Valley is located in Douglas County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Surprise Valley that is located in Pierce County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Surprise Valley.
- Saskatchewan
- This Surprise Valley lies 826 miles [1,329.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Surprise Valley that is located in Pierce County.
- Oregon
Curious and Interesting Names Near Surprise Valley ...
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.
- Clay City
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Electron
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Graham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Graham is located in Pierce County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graham <3>
- Jims Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jims Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jims Corner
- Jims Corner is located in Pierce County
- New Reliance
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Reliance have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Reliance
- New Reliance is located in Pierce County
- Ohop
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Ohop Bob
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Rocky Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Rocky Ridge is located in Pierce County
- Tanwax
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Thrift
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
How Far From Surprise Valley 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 Surprise Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Surprise Valley and extending to:
- Tacoma, which is the Seat of Pierce County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Surprise Valley to Tacoma, with an average speed<4> 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 32 miles [51.5 km] to the west northwest (WNW). 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 2,317 miles [3,728.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,816 miles [10,969.3 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 7,578 miles [12,195.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,696 miles [9,166.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Surprise Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pierce County: www.co.pierce.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Surprise Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Surprise Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9304, Longitude: -122.2329 In this case, the coordinates for Surprise Valley 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 Surprise Valley 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 340.758 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.261 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.743 degrees. |