Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Richland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Richland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Richland
- 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 Richland:
- 46.307059, -119.363117
- 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 Richland
- 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 Richland 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Richland ...
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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Geneva Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva Junction
- Geneva Junction is located in Benton County
- Highland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Horse Heaven
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horse Heaven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Heaven
- Horse Heaven is located in Benton County
- Island View
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View
- Island View is located in Benton County
- May Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May Junction
- May Junction is located in Benton County
- Riverview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Ruby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Vista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
How Far From West Richland 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 city such as West Richland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in West Richland and extending to:
- Prosser, which is the Seat of Benton County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from West Richland to Prosser, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day 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 175 miles [281.6 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,183 miles [3,513.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 86 days and walking would take 124 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,808 miles [10,956.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,574 miles [12,189.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- 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).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Richland. 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> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- West Richland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Richland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.3071, Longitude: -119.3631 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Richland to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.358 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.434 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.929 degrees. |