Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thatcher, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thatcher and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thatcher
- 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 Thatcher:
- 48.554825, -122.818790
- 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 Thatcher
- 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 San Juan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Juan County
- Since Thatcher is near Skagit County and also Whatcom County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Skagit County
- eBird sighting report for Whatcom 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 Thatcher ...
We found ten communities that share the name Thatcher.
Within Washington, the name Thatcher is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Bingham County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Thatcher [Bingham County].
- Cassia County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Thatcher [Cassia County].
- Franklin County
- This Thatcher is located in Franklin County and lies 683 miles [1,099.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the Thatcher that is located in San Juan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Thatcher.
- Nebraska
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thatcher ...
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.
- Argyle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Argyle is located in San Juan County
- Deer Harbor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Harbor
- Deer Harbor is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Harbor <3>
- Doe Bay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Dolphin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Friday Harbor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday Harbor
- Friday Harbor is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,544 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Friday Harbor <3>
- Indian Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Skagit County
- Orcas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orcas
- Orcas is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orcas <3>
- Urban
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
- Urban is located in Skagit County
How Far From Thatcher 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 Thatcher to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Thatcher and extending to:
- Friday Harbor, which is the Seat of San Juan County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Thatcher to Friday Harbor, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 104 miles [167.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,341 miles [3,767.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,718 miles [10,811.6 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 7,479 miles [12,036.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,616 miles [9,038.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thatcher. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for San Juan County: www.co.san-juan.wa.us/
The official website for State of Washington: https://wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thatcher) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thatcher. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.5548, Longitude: -122.8188 In this case, the coordinates for Thatcher have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Thatcher could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Thatcher 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 341.319 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.992 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.006 degrees. |