Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Abilene, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Abilene and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Abilene
- 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 Abilene:
- 36.145507, -119.053714
- 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 Abilene
- 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 Tulare County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tulare County
- Since Abilene is near Kern County and also Kings County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kern County
- eBird sighting report for Kings 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 Abilene ...
We found six communities that share the name Abilene.
Within California, the name Abilene is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Abilene lies 1,292 miles [2,079.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Abilene that is located in Tulare County.
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Texas
- Virginia
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Abilene ...
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.
- Burr
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Cotton Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Center
- Cotton Center is located in Tulare County
- Grey Rocks ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grey Rocks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grey Rocks
- Grey Rocks is located in Tulare County
- Harmony
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Hope ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Jones Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Corner
- Jones Corner is located in Tulare County
- Plainview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Pleasant Grove ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Tulare County
- Poplar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
- Poplar is located in Tulare County
- Poplar has also been known as:
- Poplar - Cotton Center
- Porterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Porterville is located in Tulare County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58,949 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Porterville <4>
- Stout
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Tonyville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
How Far From Abilene 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 Abilene to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Abilene and extending to:
- Visalia, which is the Seat of Tulare County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Abilene to Visalia, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 214 miles [344.4 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,288 miles [3,682.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 90 days and walking would take 130 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,452 miles [11,992.8 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 8,221 miles [13,230.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,231 miles [10,027.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Abilene. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Tulare County: www.co.tulare.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Abilene) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Abilene. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1455, Longitude: -119.0537 In this case, the coordinates for Abilene 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 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 Abilene 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> | 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Abilene 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 337.193 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.433 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.125 degrees. |