Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in La Plata, we use the following websites to find information relevant to La Plata and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for La Plata
- 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 La Plata:
- 36.928934, -108.190831
- 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 La Plata
- 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 San Juan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Juan County
- Since La Plata is near La Plata County and also Montezuma County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for La Plata County
- eBird sighting report for Montezuma 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 La Plata ...
We found seven communities that share the name La Plata.
Within New Mexico, the name La Plata is unique.
Beyond New Mexico, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Nevada
- Texas
- Deaf Smith County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of La Plata [Deaf Smith County].
- Presidio County
- This community is historic and although located in Presidio County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Presidio County community of La Plata.
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near La Plata ...
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.
- Aztec
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aztec
- Aztec is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,332 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aztec <3>
- Cedar Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in San Juan County
- Cottonwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in San Juan County
- Flora Vista
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flora Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora Vista
- Flora Vista is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flora Vista <3>
- Fruitland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Fruitland is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitland <3>
- Inca
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Marvel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marvel have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvel
- Marvel is located in La Plata County (CO)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marvel <3>
- Redmesa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Upper Fruitland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Fruitland
- Upper Fruitland is located in San Juan County
How Far From La Plata 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 La Plata to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in La Plata and extending to:
- Aztec, which is the Seat of San Juan County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from La Plata to Aztec, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 151 miles [243 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,694 miles [2,726.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 67 days and walking would take 97 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,129 miles [11,473 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,893 miles [12,702.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,826 miles [9,376 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for La Plata. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for San Juan County: www.co.san-juan.nm.us/
The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 La Plata, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- La Plata) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Plata. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9289, Longitude: -108.1908 |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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. |
| <6> | 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 La Plata to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 328.641 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 327.244 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.951 degrees. |