Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Anchorage, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Anchorage and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Anchorage
- 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 Anchorage:
- 29.067467, -98.705856
- 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 Anchorage
- 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 Atascosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Atascosa County
- Since Anchorage is near Frio County and also Bexar County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Frio County
- eBird sighting report for Bexar 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 Anchorage ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Anchorage.
Within Texas, the name Anchorage is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Anchorage lies 3,203 miles [5,154.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Anchorage that is located in Atascosa County.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Anne Arundel County
- This Anchorage is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 1,438 miles [2,314.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Anchorage that is located in Atascosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Anchorage.
- Talbot County
- This Anchorage is located in Talbot County and lies 1,451 miles [2,335.2 km] to the east northeast of the Anchorage that is located in Atascosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talbot County community of Anchorage.
- Mississippi
- Coahoma County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Anchorage [Coahoma County].
- Humphreys County
- This Anchorage is located in Humphreys County and lies 547 miles [880.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Anchorage that is located in Atascosa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humphreys County community of Anchorage.
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Anchorage ...
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.
- Bigfoot
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigfoot
- Bigfoot is located in Frio County
- Bigfoot has also been known as:
- Big Foot Colonia
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bigfoot <4>
- Castroville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castroville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castroville
- Castroville is located in Medina County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,199 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Castroville <4>
- Charlotte
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Charlotte is located in Atascosa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,909 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Charlotte <4>
- Christine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christine
- Christine is located in Atascosa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Christine <4>
- Coal Mine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Crown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Goldfinch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Miguel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Sandy Oaks
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Oaks
- Sandy Oaks is located in Bexar County
- Valley Hi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
How Far From Anchorage to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Anchorage to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Anchorage and extending to:
- Jourdanton, which is the Seat of Atascosa County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Anchorage to Jourdanton, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 100 miles [160.9 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,409 miles [2,267.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 55 days and walking would take 80 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,254 miles [11,674.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,982 miles [12,845.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,859 miles [9,429.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Anchorage) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Anchorage. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.0675, Longitude: -98.7059 In this case, the coordinates for Anchorage have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Anchorage 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. |
| <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 Anchorage, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Anchorage 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 320.664 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.873 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.82 degrees. |