Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mineral, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mineral and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mineral
- 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 Mineral:
- 31.869609, -93.457120
- 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 Mineral
- 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 De Soto Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for De Soto Parish
- Since Mineral is near Natchitoches Parish and also Sabine Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Natchitoches Parish
- eBird sighting report for Sabine 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 Mineral ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Mineral.
Within Louisiana, the name Mineral is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Pulaski County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Mineral [Pulaski County].
- Sevier County
- This Mineral is located in Sevier County and lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Mineral that is located in De Soto Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sevier County community of Mineral.
- California
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Nevada
- New Brunswick
- This Mineral lies 1,702 miles [2,739.1 km]<2> to the northeast of the Mineral that is located in De Soto Parish.
- Ohio
- Athens County
- This Mineral is located in Athens County and lies 811 miles [1,305.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Mineral that is located in De Soto Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Athens County community of Mineral.
- Vinton County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Vinton County, we don't know where within the parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vinton County community of Mineral.
- Oregon
- Texas
- Virginia
- Appomattox County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Mineral [Appomattox County].
- Louisa County
- This Mineral is located in Louisa County and lies 975 miles [1,569.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Mineral that is located in De Soto Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Louisa County community of Mineral.
- Washington
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mineral ...
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.
- Ajax
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Butler ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Dobs Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dobs Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobs Crossing
- Dobs Crossing is located in Sabine Parish
- Evelyn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Grove Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Hill
- Grove Hill is located in De Soto Parish
- Harris
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - King Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Lake End
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Marthaville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marthaville
- Marthaville is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marthaville <5>
- Pelican
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelican have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelican
- Pelican is located in De Soto Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelican <5>
- Pleasant Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Sabine Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <5>
How Far From Mineral 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 Mineral to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Mineral once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Mineral and extending to:
- Mansfield, which is the Seat of De Soto Parish, lies 18 miles [29 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Mineral to Mansfield, with an average speed<6> 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 five to six hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 167 miles [268.8 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,041 miles [1,675.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,903 miles [11,109.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,625 miles [12,271.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,501 miles [8,853 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Mineral, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Mineral) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mineral. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8696, Longitude: -93.4571 In this case, the coordinates for Mineral have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Mineral 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. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Mineral to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.647 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.681 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.317 degrees. |