Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swords, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swords and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swords
- 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 Swords:
- 30.512699, -92.262349
- 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 Swords
- 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 Saint Landry Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Landry Parish
- Since Swords is near Acadia Parish and also Evangeline Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Acadia Parish
- eBird sighting report for Evangeline 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 Swords ...
We found two communities that share the name Swords.
Within Louisiana, the name Swords is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Ontario
- This Swords lies 1,226 miles [1,973.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Swords that is located in Saint Landry Parish.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swords ...
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.
- Branch
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
- Branch is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Branch <3>
- Grand Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Prairie
- Grand Prairie is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Judd
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Lewisburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Peach Bloom
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Bloom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bloom
- Peach Bloom is located in Acadia Parish
- Point Blue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Blue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Blue
- Point Blue is located in Evangeline Parish
- Richard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Sunset
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
- Sunset is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,962 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset <3>
How Far From Swords 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 community such as Swords to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swords and extending to:
- Opelousas, which is the Seat of Saint Landry Parish, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Swords to Opelousas, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 66 miles [106.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,038 miles [1,670.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,924 miles [11,143.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,638 miles [12,292.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,513 miles [8,872.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swords. 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Swords) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swords. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.5127, Longitude: -92.2623 In this case, the coordinates for Swords have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Swords 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 316.729 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.429 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.003 degrees. |