Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Montana, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Montana and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Montana
- 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 Montana:
- 44.341583, -91.665006
- 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 Montana
- 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 Buffalo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buffalo County
- Since Montana is near Trempealeau County and also Wabasha County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Trempealeau County
- eBird sighting report for Wabasha 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 Montana ...
We found nine communities that share the name Montana.
Within Wisconsin, the name Montana is unique.
Beyond Wisconsin, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Montana lies 2,591 miles [4,169.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Montana that is located in Buffalo County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Kansas
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- West Virginia
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Montana ...
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.
- Anchorage ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Buffalo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Buffalo City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo City
- Buffalo City is located in Buffalo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
- Cream
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Czechville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Czechville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Czechville
- Czechville is located in Buffalo County
- Dewey Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey Corners
- Dewey Corners is located in Trempealeau County
- Independence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Trempealeau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
- Lookout
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Lookout is located in Buffalo County
- New City ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Tell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
How Far From Montana 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 Montana to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Montana and extending to:
- Alma, which is the Seat of Buffalo County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Montana to Alma, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 142 miles [228.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 841 miles [1,353.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,202 miles [9,981.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,953 miles [11,189.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,854 miles [7,811.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Montana. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Buffalo County: www.buffalocounty.com/
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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Montana) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Montana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3416, Longitude: -91.6650 In this case, the coordinates for Montana 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Montana 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Montana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Montana to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.171 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.792 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.947 degrees. |