Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plano, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plano and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plano
- 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 Plano:
- 36.043563, -119.008434
- 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 Plano
- 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 Plano 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 Plano ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Plano.
Within California, the name Plano is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Comanche 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 Kansas community of Plano [Comanche County].
- Stafford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Plano [Stafford County].
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Plano ...
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.
- Cotton Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Center
- Cotton Center is located in Tulare County
- Hope ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Jones Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Corner
- Jones Corner is located in Tulare County
- Magnolia
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Poplar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
- Poplar is located in Tulare County
- Poplar has also been known as:
- Poplar - Cotton Center
- Porterville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- 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 <5>
- Ultra
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Worth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
How Far From Plano to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Plano to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Plano and extending to:
- Visalia, which is the Seat of Tulare County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Plano to Visalia, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 221 miles [355.7 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,458 miles [12,002.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,226 miles [13,238.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,236 miles [10,035.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plano. 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- Plano) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plano. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0436, Longitude: -119.0084 In this case, the coordinates for Plano 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 Plano 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 Plano, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Plano 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 337.143 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.366 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.098 degrees. |