Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Odessa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Odessa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Odessa
- 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 Odessa:
- 40.700718, -99.257297
- 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 Odessa
- 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 Buffalo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buffalo County
- Since Odessa is near Dawson County and also Kearney County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Dawson County
- eBird sighting report for Kearney 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 Odessa ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Odessa.
Within Nebraska, the name Odessa is unique.
Beyond Nebraska, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twenty communities, eighteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Odessa lies 1,169 miles [1,881.3 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Odessa that is located in Buffalo County.
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Odessa lies 696 miles [1,120.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Odessa that is located in Buffalo County.
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Odessa ...
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.
- Alfalfa Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alfalfa Center have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfalfa Center
- Alfalfa Center is located in Buffalo County
- Clyde
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Elm Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elm Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Creek
- Elm Creek is located in Buffalo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elm Creek <5>
- Funk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Funk have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funk
- Funk is located in Phelps County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Funk <5>
- Hazard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazard
- Hazard is located in Sherman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hazard <5>
- Heartwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heartwell have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartwell
- Heartwell is located in Kearney County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heartwell <5>
- Norman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Norman is located in Kearney County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norman <5>
- Sweetwater
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
- Sweetwater is located in Buffalo County
- Valley City ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley City
- Valley City is located in Kearney County
How Far From Odessa 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 Odessa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Odessa and extending to:
- Kearney, which is the Seat of Buffalo County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Odessa to Kearney, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Lincoln, which is the State Capital of Nebraska, lies 133 miles [214 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,182 miles [1,902.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 47 days and walking would take 68 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,643 miles [10,690.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,399 miles [11,907.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,309 miles [8,544 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Odessa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Buffalo County: www.buffalogov.org/
The official website for State of Nebraska: www.nebraska.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Odessa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Odessa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Odessa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7007, Longitude: -99.2573 |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Odessa 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Odessa to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 322.411 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.347 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.766 degrees. |