Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Timbuktu, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Timbuktu and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Timbuktu
- 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 Timbuktu:
- 45.532333, -123.392058
- 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 Timbuktu
- 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 Timbuktu is near Tillamook County and also Yamhill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tillamook County
- eBird sighting report for Yamhill 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 Timbuktu ...
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.
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Cove Orchard
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Orchard
- Cove Orchard is located in Yamhill County
- Davies Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davies Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies Junction
- Davies Junction is located in Washington County
- Forest Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
- Forest Grove is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,442 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Grove <2>
- Gales Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gales Creek
- Gales Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gales Creek <2>
- Greenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Washington County
- Hillside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Kansas City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
- Kansas City is located in Washington County
- Pike
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ryan's Camp. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan's Camp
- Ryan's Camp is located in Tillamook County
- Ryan's Camp has also been known as:
- Idiotville
- Timber
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber
- Timber is located in Washington County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Timber <2>
How Far From Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu 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<4> community of Timbuktu once stood, the straight-line distance<5> beginning in Timbuktu and extending to:
- Hillsboro, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<5> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Timbuktu to Hillsboro, 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 most of a day.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 44 miles [70.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,380 miles [3,830.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 136 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,925 miles [11,144.7 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 7,687 miles [12,371 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,808 miles [9,347.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | 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 Timbuktu, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Timbuktu) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Timbuktu. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.5323, Longitude: -123.3921 In this case, the coordinates for Timbuktu have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Timbuktu 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 341.647 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 343.23 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.586 degrees. |