Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ellen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ellen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ellen
- 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 Ellen:
- 35.143421, -91.591800
- 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 Ellen
- 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 White County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for White County
- Since Ellen is near Prairie County and also Woodruff County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Prairie County
- eBird sighting report for Woodruff 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 Ellen ...
We found four communities that share the name Ellen.
Within Arkansas, the name Ellen is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ellen ...
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.
- Barber ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Defiance ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Georgetown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in White County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Gum Springs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
- Gum Springs is located in White County
- Happy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Hicksville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hicksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Hicksville is located in White County
- Jasmine
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Liberty Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Valley
- Liberty Valley is located in White County
- Pryor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Ellen 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 Ellen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Ellen once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Ellen and extending to:
- Searcy, which is the Seat of White County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ellen to Searcy, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 47 miles [75.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 842 miles [1,355.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,664 miles [10,724.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,392 miles [11,896.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,268 miles [8,478 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for White County: www.whitecountyar.org/
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Ellen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ellen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.1434, Longitude: -91.5918 In this case, the coordinates for Ellen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Ellen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Ellen 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 316.774 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.095 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.999 degrees. |