RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Opal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Opal 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 Opal:
    • 41.769773, -110.321974
    • 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 Opal
  • 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 Opal ...

We found thirteen communities that share the name Opal.

There is one other community in Wyoming which is also named Opal.

Beyond Wyoming, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Wyoming ...
    • Uinta County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming community of Opal [Uinta County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Conecuh County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Opal [Conecuh County].
    • Alberta
      • This Opal lies 856 miles [1,377.6 km]<2> to the north of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
    • Arkansas
      • Lonoke County
      • This Opal is located in Lonoke County and lies 1,089 miles [1,752.6 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Opal.
      • Polk County
      • This Opal is located in Polk County and lies 1,015 miles [1,633.5 km] to the east southeast of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Opal.
      • White County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Opal [White County].
    • Michigan
      • Baraga County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Opal [Baraga County].
    • Missouri
      • Lawrence County
      • This Opal is located in Lawrence County and lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Opal.
    • New Mexico
      • Otero County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Otero County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otero County community of Opal.
    • South Dakota
      • Meade County
      • This Opal is located in Meade County and lies 450 miles [724.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meade County community of Opal.
    • Virginia
      • Fauquier County
      • This Opal is located in Fauquier County and lies 1,718 miles [2,764.9 km]<2> to the east of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fauquier County community of Opal.
    • West Virginia
      • Nicholas County
      • This Opal is located in Nicholas County and lies 1,571 miles [2,528.3 km]<2> to the east of the Opal that is located in Lincoln County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nicholas County community of Opal.
    • Wisconsin
      • Marathon County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Opal [Marathon County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Opal ...

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.

  • Antelope
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antelope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
    • Antelope is located in Uinta County
  • Carter
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carter
    • Carter is located in Uinta County
  • Diamondville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Fossil
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fossil have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossil
    • Fossil is located in Lincoln County
  • Frontier
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Little America
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rocky Crossing
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Crossing
    • Rocky Crossing is located in Lincoln County

How Far From Opal 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 town such as Opal to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Kemmerer, which is the Seat of Lincoln County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Opal to Kemmerer, 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.
  • Cheyenne, which is the State Capital of Wyoming, lies 288 miles [463.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,752 miles [2,819.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 69 days and walking would take 100 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,898 miles [11,101.3 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 7,666 miles [12,337.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,641 miles [9,078.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Opal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lincoln County: www.co.lincoln.wy.us/

The official website for State of Wyoming: www.wyo.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Opal 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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Opal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Opal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7698, Longitude: -110.3220    
<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 Opal, 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Opal 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 330.786 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 330.235 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 320.771 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024