RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Curious and Interesting Names Near Porteous ...

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.

  • Bull River
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fisherville ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Marysville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Premier Lake
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockyview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ta Ta Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Torrent
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torrent

How Far From Porteous 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 community such as Porteous to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Porteous and extending to:

  • Victoria, which is the Provincial Capital of British Columbia, lies 347 miles [558.4 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Porteous to Victoria, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 20 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 14 days.
  • The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,873 miles [3,014.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 74 days and walking would take 107 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,536 miles [10,518.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,303 miles [11,753 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,379 miles [8,656.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Porteous) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Porteous to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Porteous. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 49.6000, Longitude: -115.8833    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 335.672 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 336.552 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 323.342 degrees.