Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portis
- 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 Portis:
- 39.563677, -98.691924
- 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 Portis
- 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 Osborne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Osborne County
- Since Portis is near Smith County and also Mitchell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Smith County
- eBird sighting report for Mitchell 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Portis ...
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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest) - Cheyenne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south) - Cheyenne Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Gap
- Cheyenne Gap is located in Osborne County
- Covert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south) - Dispatch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dispatch
- Dispatch is located in Smith County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Dispatch
- From Portis to Dispatch
- Downs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
- Downs is located in Osborne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downs <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Downs
- From Portis to Downs
- Glen Elder
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Elder
- Glen Elder is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 420 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glen Elder <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Glen Elder
- From Portis to Glen Elder
- Hunter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Hunter is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <2>
- Reamsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reamsville
- Reamsville is located in Smith County
How Far From Portis 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 Portis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Portis and extending to:
- Osborne, which is the Seat of Osborne County, lies just to the South.
- Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<3> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Portis to Topeka, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,156 miles [1,860.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 66 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,687 miles [10,761.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,440 miles [11,973.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,343 miles [8,598.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Portis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5637, Longitude: -98.6919 |
| <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 Portis 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 321.928 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 319.649 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.656 degrees. |