Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Highlands, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Highlands and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Highlands
- 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 West Highlands:
- 46.213468, -119.181125
- 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 West Highlands
- 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 Benton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Benton County
- Since West Highlands is near Franklin County and also Walla Walla County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- eBird sighting report for Walla Walla 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 West Highlands ...
We found five communities that share the name West Highlands.
Within Washington, the name West Highlands is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Jefferson County
- This West Highlands is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,904 miles [3,064.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the West Highlands that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of West Highlands.
- California
- San Bernardino County
- This West Highlands is located in San Bernardino County and lies 839 miles [1,350.2 km]<1> to the south of the West Highlands that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of West Highlands.
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This West Highlands is located in Hillsborough County and lies 2,351 miles [3,783.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the West Highlands that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of West Highlands.
- Georgia
- Bibb 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 Georgia community of West Highlands [Bibb County].
- North Carolina
- Forsyth County
- This West Highlands is located in Forsyth County and lies 2,115 miles [3,403.8 km]<1> to the east of the West Highlands that is located in Benton County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Forsyth County community of West Highlands.
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Highlands ...
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.
- Badger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Hedges
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Highland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Humorist
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Island View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View
- Island View is located in Benton County
- Riverview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Ruby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Two Rivers
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Two Rivers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Rivers
- Two Rivers is located in Walla Walla County
- Vista
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
How Far From West Highlands 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 West Highlands to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in West Highlands and extending to:
- Prosser, which is the Seat of Benton County, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from West Highlands to Prosser, 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 just over a day.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 185 miles [297.7 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,175 miles [3,500.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 85 days and walking would take 124 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,811 miles [10,961.2 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 7,577 miles [12,194 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,658 miles [9,105.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Highlands. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Benton County: www.co.benton.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Highlands) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Highlands. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2135, Longitude: -119.1811 In this case, the coordinates for West Highlands 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 West Highlands 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> | 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. |
| <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 West Highlands 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 338.203 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.248 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.819 degrees. |