Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Houma, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Houma and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Houma
- 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 Houma:
- 29.591666, -90.712736
- 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 Houma
- 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Terrebonne Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Terrebonne Parish
- Since Houma is near Lafourche Parish and also Saint Charles Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lafourche Parish
- eBird sighting report for Saint Charles Parish
- 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 Houma ...
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.
- Argyle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Crescent
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Cypress Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cypress Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Gardens
- Cypress Gardens is located in Terrebonne Parish
- Idlewild
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Mechanicville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mechanicville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicville
- Mechanicville is located in Terrebonne Parish
- Mulberry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Sunshine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Waterproof
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterproof have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterproof
- Waterproof is located in Terrebonne Parish
- Woodlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Houma to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Houma to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Houma and extending to:
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 64 miles [103 km]<2> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Houma to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,009 miles [1,623.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,906 miles [11,114.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,611 miles [12,248.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,488 miles [8,832.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Houma. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.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> | 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- Houma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Houma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.5917, Longitude: -90.7127 |
| <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 Houma to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.666 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.065 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.516 degrees. |