Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Durango, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Durango and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Durango
- 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 Durango:
- 37.280962, -107.878201
- 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 Durango
- 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 La Plata County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for La Plata County
- Since Durango is near Montezuma County and also San Juan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montezuma County
- eBird sighting report for San Juan 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 Durango ...
We found three communities that share the name Durango.
Within Colorado, the name Durango is unique.
Beyond Colorado, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Iowa
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Durango ...
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.
- Carbon Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Junction
- Carbon Junction is located in La Plata County
- Columbus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Florida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Florida is located in La Plata County
- Gem Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Village
- Gem Village is located in La Plata County
- Grandview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Mayday ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Rockwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Rockwood is located in La Plata County
- Trimble
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
How Far From Durango 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 Durango to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Durango and extending to:
- Denver, which is the State Capital of Colorado, lies 230 miles [370.1 km]<1> to the northeast (NE). If you could drive a straight line from Durango to Denver, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,671 miles [2,689.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 66 days and walking would take 95 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,100 miles [11,426.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,863 miles [12,654.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,796 miles [9,327.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Durango: www.durangogov.org/
The official website for La Plata County: www.co.laplata.co.us/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
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- Durango) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Durango. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2810, Longitude: -107.8782 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Durango to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 328.445 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 327.047 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.759 degrees. |