Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lancaster, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lancaster and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lancaster
- 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 Lancaster:
- 32.595550, -96.781141
- 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 Lancaster
- 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 Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since Lancaster is near Ellis County and also Tarrant County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ellis County
- eBird sighting report for Tarrant 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 Lancaster ...
We found 38 communities that share the name Lancaster.
Within Texas, the name Lancaster is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another 38 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 38 communities, 35 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Lake County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Lancaster [Lake County].
- Suwannee County
- This Lancaster is located in Suwannee County and lies 815 miles [1,311.6 km]<2> to the east of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suwannee County community of Lancaster.
- Georgia
- Marion County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Lancaster [Marion County].
- Wayne County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Lancaster [Wayne County].
- Illinois
- Lake County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Lancaster [Lake County].
- Peoria County
- This Lancaster is located in Peoria County and lies 671 miles [1,079.9 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Peoria County community of Lancaster.
- Wabash County
- This Lancaster is located in Wabash County and lies 647 miles [1,041.2 km] to the northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wabash County community of Lancaster.
- Indiana
- Clay County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Lancaster [Clay County].
- Huntington County
- This Lancaster is located in Huntington County and lies 839 miles [1,350.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huntington County community of Lancaster.
- Jefferson County
- This Lancaster is located in Jefferson County and lies 763 miles [1,227.9 km] to the northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Lancaster.
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Atchison County
- This Lancaster is located in Atchison County and lies 488 miles [785.4 km]<2> to the north of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Atchison County community of Lancaster.
- Miami County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Lancaster [Miami County].
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Clark County
- Although located in Clark County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Lancaster.
- Schuyler County
- This Lancaster is located in Schuyler County and lies 595 miles [957.6 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuyler County community of Lancaster.
- New Brunswick
- This Lancaster lies 1,849 miles [2,975.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Lancaster lies 2,502 miles [4,026.6 km]<2> to the northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Lancaster lies 1,469 miles [2,364.1 km]<2> to the northeast of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- Oregon
- Lane County
- This Lancaster is located in Lane County and lies 1,629 miles [2,621.6 km]<2> to the northwest of the Lancaster that is located in Dallas County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lane County community of Lancaster.
- Malheur County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oregon community of Lancaster [Malheur County].
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Lancaster ...
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.
- DeSoto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeSoto
- DeSoto is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 52,910 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeSoto <4>
- Ferris
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferris have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
- Ferris is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,069 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferris <4>
- Fruitdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Lisbon ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Oak Leaf
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Patrick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Pecan Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pecan Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Hill
- Pecan Hill is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 714 people
- Pleasant Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Run have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Pleasant Run is located in Dallas County
- Red Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Red Oak is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,098 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Oak <4>
- Shamrock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Lancaster 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 city such as Lancaster to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lancaster and extending to:
- Dallas, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Lancaster to Dallas, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 170 miles [273.6 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,185 miles [1,907.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 47 days and walking would take 68 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,993 miles [11,254.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,727 miles [12,435.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,605 miles [9,020.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Lancaster: www.ci.lancaster.tx.us/
The official website for Dallas County: www.dallascounty.org/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Lancaster 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. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- Lancaster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lancaster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.5956, Longitude: -96.7811 In this case, the coordinates for Lancaster have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Lancaster, 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> | 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. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 Lancaster to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.907 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.424 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.673 degrees. |