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.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portia
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Cedar County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Portia ...
We found two communities that share the name Portia.
Within Missouri, the name Portia is unique.
Beyond Missouri, 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 ...
- Arkansas
- 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)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Cedar County
- Coal Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Ebb ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - El Dorado Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Dorado Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Dorado Springs
- El Dorado Springs is located in Cedar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,601 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Dorado Springs <3>
- Fair Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
- Fair Haven is located in Vernon County
- Greene Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greene Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Springs
- Greene Springs is located in Vernon County
- Indian Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
- Indian Springs is located in Vernon County
- Rockville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Rocky Ford ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
- Rocky Ford is located in Vernon County
- Willowville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowville
- Willowville is located in Cedar County
How Far From Portia 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 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<4> 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 923 miles [1,485.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<5> 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).<6>
- 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).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,242 miles [8,436.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Vernon County: www.vernoncountymo.org/
The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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.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). |
| <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 Portia 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 318.613 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.593 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.64 degrees. |