Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tacoma Junction, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tacoma Junction and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tacoma Junction
- 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 Tacoma Junction:
- 47.240655, -122.394567
- 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 Tacoma Junction
- 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 Tacoma Junction is near King County and also Kitsap County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for King County
- eBird sighting report for Kitsap 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 Tacoma Junction ...
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.
- Dash Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
- Dash Point is located in Pierce County
- Federal Way
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Way
- Federal Way is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 96,307 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Federal Way <1>
- Fern Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Firwood ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Gardenville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
- Gardenville is located in Pierce County
- Lakeview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Lakota
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Meeker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Mirror Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mirror Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mirror Lake
- Mirror Lake is located in King County
- University Place
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Place
- University Place is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,090 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for University Place <1>
How Far From Tacoma Junction 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 Tacoma Junction to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Tacoma Junction and extending to:
- Tacoma, which is the Seat of Pierce County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Tacoma Junction to Olympia, with an average speed<5> 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 just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,324 miles [3,740.1 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,798 miles [10,940.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,560 miles [12,166.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,682 miles [9,144.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tacoma Junction. 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | 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- Tacoma Junction) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tacoma Junction. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2407, Longitude: -122.3946 In this case, the coordinates for Tacoma Junction have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Tacoma Junction to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.908 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.45 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.827 degrees. |