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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portia 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 Portia:
- 37.908368, -94.074943
- 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 Portia
- 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 Vernon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Vernon County
- Since Portia is near Cedar County and also Saint Clair County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Cedar County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Clair 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 Portia
Communities Also Named Portia ...
We found two communities that are also named Portia.
Within Missouri, the name Portia is unique.
Beyond Missouri, we know of two communities that are located 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 ...
- Arkansas
- Lawrence County
- This Portia is located in Lawrence County and lies 208 miles [334.7 km]<1> to the southeast of the Portia that is located in Vernon County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lawrence County community of Portia.
- Manitoba
- This Portia lies 930 miles [1,496.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Portia that is located in Vernon County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Portia ...
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.
- Cedar Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cedar Springs is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Coal Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Coal Hill is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Ebb ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ebb is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebb
- El Dorado Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fair Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fair Haven is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
- Greene Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greene Springs is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Springs
- Indian Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Springs is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
- Rockville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rockville is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Rocky Ford ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Ford is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
- Willowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Willowville is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowville
How Far From Portia 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 Portia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Portia and extending to:
- Nevada, which is the Seat of Vernon County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Portia to Nevada, with an average speed<3> 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 five to six hours.
- Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 112 miles [180.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 923 miles [1,485.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,616 miles [10,647.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,357 miles [11,839.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,242 miles [8,436.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Portia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Portia 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 Portia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9084, Longitude: -94.0749 In this case, the coordinates for Portia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.613 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.593 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.64 degrees. |
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