RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Wisconsin >> Waukesha County >> Wales >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Wales, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wales and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Wales:
    • 43.005010, -88.377874
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Wales
  • 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 Waukesha County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Waukesha County
    • Since Wales is near Jefferson County and also Racine County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Racine 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Wales

Communities Also Named Wales ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Wales.

Within Wisconsin, the name Wales is unique.

Beyond Wisconsin, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • This Wales lies 3,282 miles [5,281.9 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
    • Colorado
      • Arapahoe 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 Colorado community of Wales [Arapahoe County].
    • Iowa
      • Montgomery County
      • This Wales is located in Montgomery County and lies 379 miles [609.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Wales.
    • Kentucky
      • Pike County
      • This Wales is located in Pike County and lies 494 miles [795 km]<1> to the southeast of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Wales.
    • Maine
      • Androscoggin County
      • This Wales is located in Androscoggin County and lies 918 miles [1,477.4 km]<1> to the east of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Androscoggin County community of Wales.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden County
      • This Wales is located in Hampden County and lies 823 miles [1,324.5 km]<1> to the east of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Wales.
    • Michigan
      • Saint Clair 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 Michigan community of Wales [Saint Clair County].
    • Minnesota
      • Lake County
      • This Wales is located in Lake County and lies 334 miles [537.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Wales.
    • Missouri
      • Vernon 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 Missouri community of Wales [Vernon County].
    • New York
      • Erie 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 New York community of Wales [Erie County].
    • North Dakota
      • Burleigh 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 North Dakota community of Wales [Burleigh County].
      • Cavalier County
      • This Wales is located in Cavalier County and lies 636 miles [1,023.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cavalier County community of Wales.
    • Ohio
      • Gallia 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 Ohio community of Wales [Gallia County].
    • Ontario
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Wales.
    • Tennessee
      • Giles County
      • This Wales is located in Giles County and lies 540 miles [869 km]<1> to the south of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Giles County community of Wales.
    • Utah
      • Sanpete County
      • This Wales is located in Sanpete County and lies 1,227 miles [1,974.7 km]<1> to the west of the Wales that is located in Waukesha County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sanpete County community of Wales.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Wales ...

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.

  • Eagle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Eagle is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,193 people
  • Eagleville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Eagleville is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleville
  • Hartland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hartland is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,338 people
  • Heath Mills
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Heath Mills is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heath Mills
  • Lake Five
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Lake Five is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Five
  • Little Prairie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Prairie is located in Walworth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Prairie
  • Marcy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Marcy is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcy
  • Potter Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Potter Lake is located in Walworth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Lake
  • Prospect
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Prospect is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
  • Slabtown
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Slabtown is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
  • Summit Corners
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Summit Corners is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Corners
  • Willow Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Willow Springs is located in Waukesha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs

How Far From Wales to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Wales to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Wales and extending to:

  • Waukesha, which is the Seat of Waukesha County, lies just to the East.
  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 51 miles [82.1 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from Wales to Madison, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 655 miles [1,054.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,154 miles [9,903.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,898 miles [11,101.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,786 miles [7,702.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Wales) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Wales 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 Wales, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Wales to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wales. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0050, Longitude: -88.3779       In this case, the coordinates for Wales have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.925 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.048 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.611 degrees.