RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Webster County >> Ortiz >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ortiz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ortiz 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 Ortiz:
    • 37.556433, -87.609175
    • 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 Ortiz
  • 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 Webster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Webster County
    • Since Ortiz is near Hopkins County and also McLean County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hopkins County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McLean 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 Ortiz

Communities Also Named Ortiz ...

We found three communities that are also named Ortiz.

Within Kentucky, the name Ortiz is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Conejos County
      • This Ortiz is located in Conejos County and lies 1,011 miles [1,627 km]<1> to the west of the Ortiz that is located in Webster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Conejos County community of Ortiz.
    • Missouri
      • Audrain County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Ortiz [Audrain County].
    • New Mexico
      • Santa Fe County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of Ortiz [Santa Fe County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ortiz ...

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.

  • Cairo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cairo is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
  • Dixie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dixie is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
  • Free Union
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Free Union is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Union
  • Gatesville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Gatesville is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
  • Givens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Givens is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Givens
  • Jolly
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jolly is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolly
  • Little Zion
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Little Zion is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Zion
  • Slaughters
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Slaughters is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
  • Steamport Landing
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Steamport Landing is located in Webster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamport Landing
  • Tunnel Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Tunnel Hill is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel Hill

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

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

  • Dixon, which is the Seat of Webster County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Ortiz to Frankfort, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 580 miles [933.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,390 miles [10,283.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,116 miles [11,452.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,992 miles [8,033.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ortiz) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Ortiz, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Ortiz 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 Ortiz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5564, Longitude: -87.6092       In this case, the coordinates for Ortiz have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.364 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.641 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.714 degrees.