Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portia
- 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 Portia:
- 36.084850, -91.071123
- 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 Portia
- 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 Lawrence County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
- Since Portia is near Randolph County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Randolph County
- eBird sighting report for Greene 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 Portia ...
We found two communities that share the name Portia.
Within Arkansas, the name Portia is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Manitoba
- This Portia lies 1,097 miles [1,765.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Portia that is located in Lawrence County.
- Missouri
- Manitoba
Curious and Interesting Names Near Portia ...
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.
- Aa Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aa Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aa Junction
- Aa Junction is located in Lawrence County
- Clover Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clover Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Bend
- Clover Bend is located in Lawrence County
- College City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College City
- College City is located in Lawrence County
- Estimated population in 2016: 506 people
- Hogan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Hopewell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Lauratown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Lesterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lesterville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesterville
- Lesterville is located in Randolph County
- Richwoods
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Walnut Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Ridge
- Walnut Ridge is located in Lawrence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,162 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Ridge <3>
How Far From Portia 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 town such as Portia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Portia and extending to:
- Walnut Ridge, which is the Seat of Lawrence County, lies just to the East.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 114 miles [183.5 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Portia to Little Rock, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 792 miles [1,274.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,597 miles [10,616.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,326 miles [11,790.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,203 miles [8,373.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Portia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0849, Longitude: -91.0711 In this case, the coordinates for Portia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Portia to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.506 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.911 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.59 degrees. |