Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plat, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plat and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plat
- 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 Plat:
- 43.207783, -88.280928
- 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 Plat
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Plat is near Waukesha County and also Dodge County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Waukesha County
- eBird sighting report for Dodge 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 Plat ...
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.
- Cedar Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Cedar Creek is located in Washington County
- Cedar Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
- Cedar Lake is located in Washington County
- Hartland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Lake Five
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Five
- Lake Five is located in Washington County
- Meeker
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Pike Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Rockfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Rugby Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rugby Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby Junction
- Rugby Junction is located in Washington County
- Victory Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victory Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Center
- Victory Center is located in Washington County
- Willow Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Willow Creek is located in Washington County
- Willow Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Waukesha County
How Far From Plat 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 Plat to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Plat and extending to:
- West Bend, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Plat to West Bend, with an average speed<3> 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 57 miles [91.7 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 656 miles [1,055.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,141 miles [9,883 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,885 miles [11,080.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,773 miles [7,681.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plat. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Plat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2078, Longitude: -88.2809 In this case, the coordinates for Plat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Plat 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 314.857 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.00 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.501 degrees. |