Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Belgium, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Belgium and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Belgium
- 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 Belgium:
- 27.237548, -81.890917
- 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 Belgium
- 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 DeSoto County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DeSoto County
- Since Belgium is near Hardee County and also Manatee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hardee County
- eBird sighting report for Manatee 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 Belgium ...
We found four communities that share the name Belgium.
Within Florida, the name Belgium is unique.
Beyond Florida, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- New York
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Belgium ...
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.
- Bridges
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Cubitis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Hull
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Joshua
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Limestone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Peace River Shores
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peace River Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace River Shores
- Peace River Shores is located in Charlotte County
- Pine Level
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Level have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Pine Level is located in DeSoto County
- Sandy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Sandy is located in Manatee County
- Tryon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
How Far From Belgium 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 Belgium to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Belgium once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Belgium and extending to:
- Arcadia, which is the Seat of DeSoto County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Belgium to Tallahassee, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 852 miles [1,371.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,625 miles [10,661.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,287 miles [11,727.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,192 miles [8,355.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for DeSoto County: www.co.desoto.fl.us/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Belgium) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belgium. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.2375, Longitude: -81.8909 In this case, the coordinates for Belgium have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | 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 Belgium, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Belgium 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 310.476 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.72 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.858 degrees. |