Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vortex, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vortex and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vortex
- 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 Vortex:
- 31.089633, -92.515138
- 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 Vortex
- 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 Rapides Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rapides Parish
- Since Vortex is near Evangeline Parish and also Allen Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Evangeline Parish
- eBird sighting report for Allen 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 Vortex ...
We found one communities that share the name Vortex.
Within Louisiana, the name Vortex is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, there is another community also named Vortex in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vortex ...
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.
- Castor Plunge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castor Plunge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castor Plunge
- Castor Plunge is located in Rapides Parish
- Chambers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Clearwater
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
- Clearwater is located in Evangeline Parish
- Cloverdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Rapides Parish
- Clubhouse Landing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clubhouse Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clubhouse Landing
- Clubhouse Landing is located in Rapides Parish
- Dove Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dove Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dove Landing
- Dove Landing is located in Rapides Parish
- Elmer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
- Elmer is located in Rapides Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmer <3>
- Longleaf
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longleaf
- Longleaf is located in Rapides Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longleaf <3>
- Lyles ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Meeker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Squealer Point Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squealer Point Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squealer Point Landing
- Squealer Point Landing is located in Evangeline Parish
How Far From Vortex 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 Vortex 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<4> community of Vortex once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Vortex and extending to:
- Alexandria, which is the Seat of Rapides Parish, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Vortex to Alexandria, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 91 miles [146.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,026 miles [1,651.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,905 miles [11,112.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,622 miles [12,266.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,497 miles [8,846.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rapides Parish: www.rppj.com/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vortex) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vortex. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.0896, Longitude: -92.5151 In this case, the coordinates for Vortex 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> | 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 Vortex, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Vortex 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 316.958 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.772 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.03 degrees. |