Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portland
- 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 Portland:
- 41.599266, -72.590646
- 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 Portland
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Portland is near Hartford County and also New London County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hartford County
- eBird sighting report for New London 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 Portland ...
We found three communities that share the name Portland.
Within Connecticut, the name Portland is unique.
Beyond Connecticut, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New York
- Wisconsin
- Dodge County
- This Portland is located in Dodge County and lies 840 miles [1,351.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Portland that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dodge County community of Portland.
- Monroe County
- This Portland is located in Monroe County and lies 937 miles [1,508 km] to the west northwest of the Portland that is located in Middlesex County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Portland.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Portland ...
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.
- Cobalt
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobalt
- Cobalt is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cobalt <2>
- Cobalt Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cobalt Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobalt Landing
- Cobalt Landing is located in Middlesex County
- Cotton Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hollow
- Cotton Hollow is located in Hartford County
- Fox Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Meadows
- Fox Meadows is located in Middlesex County
- Gildersleeve
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gildersleeve have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gildersleeve
- Gildersleeve is located in Middlesex County
- Hopewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Long Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Rocky Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hill
- Rocky Hill is located in Hartford County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rocky Hill <2>
- Skinnerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skinnerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinnerville
- Skinnerville is located in Middlesex County
How Far From Portland 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 Portland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Portland and extending to:
- Hartford, which is the State Capital of Connecticut, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Portland to Hartford, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 299 miles [481.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,598 miles [9,009.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,305 miles [10,146.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,181 miles [6,728.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portland. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Connecticut: https://portal.ct.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Portland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5993, Longitude: -72.5906 In this case, the coordinates for Portland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Portland 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 304.997 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.594 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.632 degrees. |