RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Nebraska >> Sioux County >> Orella >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Orella, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orella 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 Orella:
    • 42.893302, -103.500480
    • 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 Orella
  • 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 Sioux County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sioux County
    • Since Orella is near Dawes County and also Fall River County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dawes County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fall River 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 Orella

Communities Also Named Orella ...

We found one communities that are also named Orella.

Within Nebraska, the name Orella is unique.

Beyond Nebraska, there is another community also named Orella in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Santa Barbara County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Orella [Santa Barbara County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Orella ...

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.

  • Dakota Junction
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Dakota Junction is located in Dawes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota Junction
  • Five Points
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Five Points is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Glen
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Glen is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen
  • Horn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Horn is located in Dawes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn
  • Igloo
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Igloo is located in Fall River County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Igloo
  • Pine Ridge
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Pine Ridge is located in Dawes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
  • Rocky Ford
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Ford is located in Fall River County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
    • Estimated population in 2014: 6 people
  • Story
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Story is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Orella and extending to:

  • Harrison, which is the Seat of Sioux County, lies 23 miles [37 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Orella to Harrison, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Lincoln, which is the State Capital of Nebraska, lies 377 miles [606.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,402 miles [2,256.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 55 days and walking would take 80 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,649 miles [10,700.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,413 miles [11,930.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,353 miles [8,614.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Orella, 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- Orella) 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 Orella 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 Orella. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8933, Longitude: -103.5005       In this case, the coordinates for Orella have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 325.662 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.371 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.734 degrees.