RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Scott County >> Oran >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Oran, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oran 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 Oran:
    • 37.085673, -89.653206
    • 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 Oran
  • 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 Scott County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Scott County
    • Since Oran is near Stoddard County and also Cape Girardeau County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stoddard County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cape Girardeau 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 Oran

Communities Also Named Oran ...

We found seven communities that are also named Oran.

Within Missouri, the name Oran is unique.

Beyond Missouri, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Oran is located in Hillsborough County and lies 755 miles [1,215.1 km]<1> to the southeast of the Oran that is located in Scott County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Oran.
    • Georgia
      • Murray County
      • This Oran is located in Murray County and lies 315 miles [506.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Oran that is located in Scott County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Murray County community of Oran.
    • Iowa
      • Fayette County
      • This Oran is located in Fayette County and lies 408 miles [656.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Oran that is located in Scott County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Oran.
    • New Mexico
      • Otero County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Otero County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otero County community of Oran.
    • New York
      • Onondaga County
      • This Oran is located in Onondaga County and lies 830 miles [1,335.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Oran that is located in Scott County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Oran.
    • Ohio
      • Shelby County
      • This Oran is located in Shelby County and lies 362 miles [582.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Oran that is located in Scott County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Oran.
    • Texas
      • Palo Pinto County
      • This Oran is located in Palo Pinto County and lies 558 miles [898 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Oran that is located in Scott County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Palo Pinto County community of Oran.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oran ...

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.

  • Bell City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bell City is located in Stoddard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
  • Cedar Cliffs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Cliffs is located in Cape Girardeau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cliffs
  • Cliff ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cliff is located in Cape Girardeau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff
  • Delta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Delta is located in Cape Girardeau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delta <3>
  • Dutchtown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
    • Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
  • Green Cox
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Green Cox is located in Cape Girardeau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cox
  • Hickory Ridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hickory Ridge is located in Cape Girardeau County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
  • Himmel
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Himmel is located in Stoddard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Himmel
  • Kagel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Kagel is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kagel
  • Poor Farm ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Poor Farm is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poor Farm
  • Rockview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Rockview is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockview
  • Tanner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Tanner is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanner

How Far From Oran 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 city such as Oran to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Benton, which is the Seat of Scott County, lies just to the East.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Oran to Jefferson City, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 697 miles [1,121.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,492 miles [10,447.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,221 miles [11,621.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,099 miles [8,206 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oran) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Oran, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Oran 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 Oran. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0857, Longitude: -89.6532       In this case, the coordinates for Oran have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.65 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.058 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.743 degrees.