Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lotus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lotus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lotus
- 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 Lotus:
- 31.485451, -93.130443
- 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 Lotus
- 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 Natchitoches Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Natchitoches Parish
- Since Lotus is near Sabine Parish and also Vernon Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sabine Parish
- eBird sighting report for Vernon 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
Communities Also Named Lotus ...
We found eight communities that share the name Lotus.
Within Louisiana, the name Lotus is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Ontario
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Lotus ...
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.
- Cypress
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Fisherville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisherville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Fisherville is located in Vernon Parish
- Flora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flora have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Flora is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flora <4>
- Henryville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henryville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henryville
- Henryville is located in Natchitoches Parish
- James Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Ferry
- James Ferry is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Lakeview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Magnolia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Mink
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Provencal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provencal
- Provencal is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Provencal <4>
- Red Dirt ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Vowells Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vowells Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
- Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
How Far From Lotus 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 community such as Lotus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lotus and extending to:
- Natchitoches, which is the Seat of Natchitoches Parish, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Lotus to Natchitoches, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 137 miles [220.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 1,040 miles [1,673.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,910 miles [11,120.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,630 miles [12,279.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,505 miles [8,859.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lotus. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lotus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lotus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4855, Longitude: -93.1304 In this case, the coordinates for Lotus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Lotus 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 parish. 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Lotus 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 317.393 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.334 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.231 degrees. |