Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Amherst, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Amherst and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Amherst
- 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 Amherst:
- 44.450881, -89.284729
- 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 Amherst
- 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 Portage County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Portage County
- Since Amherst is near Waupaca County and also Marathon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Waupaca County
- eBird sighting report for Marathon 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 Amherst ...
We found 24 communities that share the name Amherst.
Within Wisconsin, the name Amherst is unique.
Beyond Wisconsin, we know of another 24 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 24 communities, 21 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Florida
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Geary 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 Kansas community of Amherst [Geary County].
- Russell 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 Kansas community of Amherst [Russell County].
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Erie County
- This Amherst is located in Erie County and lies 532 miles [856.2 km]<1> to the east of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Amherst.
- Genesee County
- This Amherst is located in Genesee County and lies 533 miles [857.8 km] to the east of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Genesee County community of Amherst.
- North Carolina
- Nova Scotia
- This Amherst lies 1,219 miles [1,961.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Quebec
- This Amherst lies 713 miles [1,147.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Lamar County
- This Amherst is located in Lamar County and lies 810 miles [1,303.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Amherst.
- Lamb County
- This Amherst is located in Lamb County and lies 1,003 miles [1,614.2 km] to the southwest of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamb County community of Amherst.
- Virginia
- Amherst County
- This Amherst is located in Amherst County and lies 712 miles [1,145.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Amherst that is located in Portage County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amherst County community of Amherst.
- Fairfax 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 Virginia community of Amherst [Fairfax County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Amherst ...
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.
- Blaine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Blaine is located in Portage County
- Chain O' Lakes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chain O' Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain O' Lakes
- Chain O' Lakes is located in Waupaca County
- Granite Quarry ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granite Quarry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Quarry
- Granite Quarry is located in Waupaca County
- Indian Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Crossing
- Indian Crossing is located in Waupaca County
- King
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- King is located in Waupaca County
- Little Hope
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Hope
- Little Hope is located in Waupaca County
- Little Waupon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Waupon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Waupon
- Little Waupon is located in Portage County
- Peru
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Petersville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Petersville is located in Waupaca County
- Plover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Rural
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Amherst 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 village such as Amherst to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Amherst and extending to:
- Stevens Point, which is the Seat of Portage County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Amherst to Stevens Point, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 95 miles [152.9 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 three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 737 miles [1,186.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,115 miles [9,841.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,863 miles [11,044.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,759 miles [7,658.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Amherst. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Portage County: www.co.portage.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Amherst) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Amherst. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.4509, Longitude: -89.2847 |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Amherst 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 Amherst 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 315.522 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.932 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.651 degrees. |