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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fort De Soto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fort De Soto and the surrounding area.
- 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 Fort De Soto:
- 27.615589, -82.736211
- 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.
- Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Fort De Soto
- 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 Pinellas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Pinellas County
- Since Fort De Soto is near Hillsborough County and also Manatee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hillsborough County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Fort De Soto
Curious and Interesting Names Near Fort De Soto ...
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.
- Cedar Hammock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Hammock is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hammock
- Fort Lonely
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fort Lonely is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lonely
- Gulfport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Longbeach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Longbeach is located in Manatee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longbeach
- Mitchell Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mitchell Beach is located in Pinellas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Beach
- Piney Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Piney Point is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Point
- Sunset Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sunset Beach is located in Pinellas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Beach
- Sunshine Beach
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Sunshine Beach is located in Pinellas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine Beach
- Treasure Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
How Far From Fort De Soto 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 Fort De Soto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Fort De Soto and extending to:
- Clearwater, which is the Seat of Pinellas County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Fort De Soto to Clearwater, with an average speed<3> 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.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 216 miles [347.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 845 miles [1,359.9 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,647 miles [10,697.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,315 miles [11,772.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,215 miles [8,392.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fort De Soto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Fort De Soto to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort De Soto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.6156, Longitude: -82.7362 In this case, the coordinates for Fort De Soto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.948 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.318 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.046 degrees. |
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