RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maine >> Aroostook County >> Portage >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Portage, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portage and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Portage:
    • 46.763097, -68.475877
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Portage
  • 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 county-by-county basis. We have selected Aroostook County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Aroostook County
  • 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Portage

Communities Also Named Portage ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Portage.

Within Maine, the name Portage is unique.

Beyond Maine, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alaska community of Portage.
    • Illinois
      • Jo Daviess County
      • This Portage is located in Jo Daviess County and lies 1,118 miles [1,799.2 km]<2> to the west of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jo Daviess County community of Portage.
    • Indiana
      • Hamilton County
      • This Portage is located in Hamilton County and lies 992 miles [1,596.5 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Portage.
      • Porter County
      • This Portage is located in Porter County and lies 989 miles [1,591.6 km] to the west southwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Porter County community of Portage.
    • Kansas
      • Rooks County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Portage [Rooks County].
    • Louisiana
      • Saint Landry Parish
      • This Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish and lies 1,681 miles [2,705.3 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Landry Parish community of Portage.
    • Michigan
      • Delta County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Portage [Delta County].
      • Kalamazoo County
      • This Portage is located in Kalamazoo County and lies 897 miles [1,443.6 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kalamazoo County community of Portage.
    • Minnesota
      • Aitkin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Portage [Aitkin County].
    • Missouri
      • Osage County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Portage [Osage County].
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This Portage is located in Cascade County and lies 1,976 miles [3,180.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Portage.
    • New Brunswick
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Brunswick community of Portage.
    • New York
      • Livingston County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Portage [Livingston County].
      • Wyoming County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Portage [Wyoming County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Portage lies 390 miles [627.6 km]<2> to the east of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
    • Ohio
      • Wood County
      • This Portage is located in Wood County and lies 839 miles [1,350.2 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Portage.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria County
      • This Portage is located in Cambria County and lies 682 miles [1,097.6 km]<2> to the southwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Portage.
    • Prince Edward Island
      • This Portage lies 208 miles [334.7 km]<2> to the east of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
    • Utah
      • Box Elder County
      • This Portage is located in Box Elder County and lies 2,156 miles [3,469.7 km]<2> to the west of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Box Elder County community of Portage.
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Portage is located in King County and lies 2,485 miles [3,999.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Portage.
      • Skagit County
      • This Portage is located in Skagit County and lies 2,413 miles [3,883.3 km] to the west northwest of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Skagit County community of Portage.
    • Wisconsin
      • Columbia County
      • This Portage is located in Columbia County and lies 1,042 miles [1,676.9 km]<2> to the west of the Portage that is located in Aroostook County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Portage.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Portage ...

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.

  • Buffalo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Bugbee
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bugbee is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bugbee
  • Castle Hill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Castle Hill is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Hill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
  • Grassy Landing
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Grassy Landing is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Landing
  • Greenlaw Crossing
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenlaw Crossing is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlaw Crossing
  • High Landing
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • High Landing is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Landing
  • Nixon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Nixon is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
  • Portage Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Portage Lake is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
  • Winterville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Winterville is located in Aroostook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterville

How Far From Portage to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Portage to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Portage and extending to:

  • Houlton, which is the Seat of Aroostook County, lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Portage to Houlton, 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 over two days.
  • Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 180 miles [289.7 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 694 miles [1,116.9 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,232 miles [8,420.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 5,953 miles [9,580.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,829 miles [6,162.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Portage 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 county. 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.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Portage) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Portage to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portage. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.7631, Longitude: -68.4759       In this case, the coordinates for Portage have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 301.573 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 297.657 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 296.846 degrees.