Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Atoka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atoka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Atoka
- 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 Atoka:
- 32.769558, -104.388851
- 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 Atoka
- 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 Eddy County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Eddy County
- Since Atoka is near Chaves County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Chaves 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 Atoka ...
We found six communities that share the name Atoka.
Within New Mexico, the name Atoka is unique.
Beyond New Mexico, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Atoka ...
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.
- Barber Crossing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barber Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber Crossing
- Barber Crossing is located in Eddy County
- Frontier Post
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frontier Post have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier Post
- Frontier Post is located in Eddy County
- Hope
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Hope is located in Eddy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <4>
- Hunter Place
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Place
- Hunter Place is located in Eddy County
- Illinois Camp
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Illinois Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois Camp
- Illinois Camp is located in Eddy County
- Lake Arthur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Arthur
- Lake Arthur is located in Chaves County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Arthur <4>
- Loco Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loco Hills
- Loco Hills is located in Eddy County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loco Hills <4>
- Seven Rivers
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Rivers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Rivers
- Seven Rivers is located in Eddy County
How Far From Atoka 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 Atoka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Atoka and extending to:
- Carlsbad, which is the Seat of Eddy County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Atoka to Carlsbad, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 219 miles [352.4 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,581 miles [2,544.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 62 days and walking would take 90 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,253 miles [11,672.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,005 miles [12,882.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,902 miles [9,498.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Atoka. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Eddy County: www.caverns.net/ecourt/
The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Atoka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atoka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7696, Longitude: -104.3889 In this case, the coordinates for Atoka have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Atoka 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Atoka to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 325.234 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 322.75 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.228 degrees. |