Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hecla, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hecla and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hecla
- 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 Hecla:
- 41.157482, -105.173311
- 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 Hecla
- 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 Laramie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Laramie County
- Since Hecla is near Albany County and also Larimer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Albany County
- eBird sighting report for Larimer 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 Hecla ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Hecla.
Within Wyoming, the name Hecla is unique.
Beyond Wyoming, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, eleven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- This Hecla lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Hecla that is located in Laramie County.
- Missouri
- Montana
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Schuylkill County
- This Hecla is located in Schuylkill County and lies 1,514 miles [2,436.5 km]<1> to the east of the Hecla that is located in Laramie County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuylkill County community of Hecla.
- Westmoreland 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 Pennsylvania community of Hecla [Westmoreland County].
- South Dakota
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hecla ...
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.
- Cheyenne
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne
- Cheyenne is located in Laramie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,742 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheyenne <4>
- Dale Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dale Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale Creek
- Dale Creek is located in Albany County
- Granite
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Horse Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
- Horse Creek is located in Laramie County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Horse Creek <4>
- Orchard Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Valley
- Orchard Valley is located in Laramie County
- Red Buttes ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Buttes have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Buttes
- Red Buttes is located in Albany County
- Silver Crown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Crown have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Crown
- Silver Crown is located in Laramie County
- Tie Siding
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tie Siding
- Tie Siding is located in Albany County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tie Siding <4>
How Far From Hecla 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 community such as Hecla to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Hecla once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Hecla and extending to:
- Cheyenne, which is the Seat of Laramie County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Hecla to Cheyenne, with an average speed<6> 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 five to six hours.
- Cheyenne, which is the State Capital of Wyoming, lies 18 miles [29 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,489 miles [2,396.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,796 miles [10,937.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,560 miles [12,166.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,499 miles [8,849.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Laramie County: www.webgate.co.laramie.wy.us/
The official website for State of Wyoming: www.wyo.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 from Point A (ie- Hecla) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hecla. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1575, Longitude: -105.1733 In this case, the coordinates for Hecla 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 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 Hecla 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 Hecla, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Hecla 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 326.791 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.498 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 317.907 degrees. |