RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
Indiana


The Commemorative Quarter for Indiana







Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Portage, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portage 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 Portage:
    • 41.580285, -87.183239
    • 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 Portage
  • 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 Portage ...

We found 22 communities that share the name Portage.

There is one other community in Indiana which is also named Portage.

Beyond Indiana, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Indiana ...
    • Hamilton County
      • This Portage is located in Hamilton County and lies 130 miles [209.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Portage.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • 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 Alaska community of Portage.
    • Illinois
      • Jo Daviess County
      • This Portage is located in Jo Daviess County and lies 176 miles [283.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jo Daviess County community of Portage.
    • Kansas
      • Rooks 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 Portage [Rooks County].
    • Louisiana
      • Saint Landry Parish
      • This Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish and lies 813 miles [1,308.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Landry Parish community of Portage.
    • Maine
      • Aroostook County
      • This Portage is located in Aroostook County and lies 990 miles [1,593.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aroostook County community of Portage.
    • Michigan
      • Delta 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 Michigan community of Portage [Delta County].
      • Kalamazoo County
      • This Portage is located in Kalamazoo County and lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kalamazoo County community of Portage.
    • Minnesota
      • Aitkin 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 Minnesota community of Portage [Aitkin County].
    • Missouri
      • Osage 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 Missouri community of Portage [Osage County].
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This Portage is located in Cascade County and lies 1,243 miles [2,000.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Portage.
    • New Brunswick
      • 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 New Brunswick community of Portage.
    • New York
      • Livingston 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 New York community of Portage [Livingston County].
      • Wyoming 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 New York community of Portage [Wyoming County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Portage lies 1,365 miles [2,196.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
    • Ohio
      • Wood County
      • This Portage is located in Wood County and lies 183 miles [294.5 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Portage.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria County
      • This Portage is located in Cambria County and lies 441 miles [709.7 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Portage.
    • Prince Edward Island
      • This Portage lies 1,193 miles [1,919.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
    • Utah
      • Box Elder County
      • This Portage is located in Box Elder County and lies 1,285 miles [2,068 km]<1> to the west of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Box Elder County community of Portage.
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Portage is located in King County and lies 1,766 miles [2,842.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Portage.
      • Skagit County
      • This Portage is located in Skagit County and lies 1,720 miles [2,768.1 km] to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Skagit County community of Portage.
    • Wisconsin
      • Columbia County
      • This Portage is located in Columbia County and lies 178 miles [286.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Portage that is located in Porter County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Portage.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Portage ...

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.

  • Chesterton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Deep River
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
    • Deep River is located in Lake County
  • Forest Oaks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
    • Forest Oaks is located in Porter County
  • Hobart
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake View
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
    • Lake View is located in Porter County
  • Liverpool
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
    • Liverpool is located in Lake County
  • McCool
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCool have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
    • McCool is located in Porter County
  • Meadowbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Meadowbrook is located in Porter County
  • Shady Side
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Side have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Side
    • Shady Side is located in Porter County
  • Willow Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
    • Willow Creek is located in Porter County
  • Woodland Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Woodland Village is located in Porter County

How Far From Portage 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 city such as Portage to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Portage and extending to:

  • Valparaiso, which is the Seat of Porter County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Portage to Valparaiso, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 136 miles [218.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 565 miles [909.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 33 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,180 miles [9,945.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,917 miles [11,131.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,799 miles [7,723.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for Portage: www.ci.portage.in.us/

The official website for Porter County: www.porterco.org/

The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Portage) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portage. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5803, Longitude: -87.1832    
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Portage 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 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.
<6>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 Portage to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.14 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.952 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.433 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024