Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Back Gate, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Back Gate and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Back Gate
- 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 Back Gate:
- 33.932603, -91.392898
- 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 Back Gate
- 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 Desha County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Desha County
- Since Back Gate is near Arkansas County and also Lincoln County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Arkansas County
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln 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 Back Gate ...
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.
- Bicker Crossing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bicker Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bicker Crossing
- Bicker Crossing is located in Lincoln County
- Burr Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Crossing
- Burr Crossing is located in Arkansas County
- Fish Dock ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Lacy ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Littles ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Pea Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pea Ridge
- Pea Ridge is located in Desha County
- Pickens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Red Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Reedville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
How Far From Back Gate 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 Back Gate to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Back Gate and extending to:
- Arkansas City, which is the Seat of Desha County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Back Gate to Arkansas City, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 74 miles [119.1 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 867 miles [1,395.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,717 miles [10,810 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,440 miles [11,973.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,316 miles [8,555.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Back Gate. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Back Gate) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Back Gate. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9326, Longitude: -91.3929 In this case, the coordinates for Back Gate 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 Back Gate 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 316.546 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.669 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.125 degrees. |