RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New Mexico >> Valencia County >> Belen >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Belen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Belen 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 Belen:
    • 34.662781, -106.776186
    • 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 Belen
  • 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 Valencia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Valencia County
    • Since Belen is near Socorro County and also Bernalillo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Socorro County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bernalillo 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 Belen

Communities Also Named Belen ...

We found two communities that are also named Belen.

Within New Mexico, the name Belen is unique.

Beyond New Mexico, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Mississippi
      • Quitman County
      • This Belen is located in Quitman County and lies 934 miles [1,503.1 km]<1> to the east of the Belen that is located in Valencia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Quitman County community of Belen.
    • Texas
      • El Paso County
      • This Belen is located in El Paso County and lies 207 miles [333.1 km]<1> to the south of the Belen that is located in Valencia County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the El Paso County community of Belen.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Belen ...

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.

  • Comanche Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Comanche Springs is located in Valencia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Springs
  • Five Points
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Five Points is located in Bernalillo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Fruitvale ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Fruitvale is located in Bernalillo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
  • Glover Place
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Glover Place is located in Torrance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover Place
  • King Place
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • King Place is located in Torrance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Place
  • Martin Place
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Martin Place is located in Torrance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Place
  • Meadow Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Meadow Lake is located in Valencia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lake
  • Mission Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mission Park is located in Valencia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Park
  • Moorehead Place
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Moorehead Place is located in Torrance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorehead Place
  • Mountainview
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Mountainview is located in Bernalillo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainview
  • Red Mill
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Red Mill is located in Socorro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mill
  • Thunderbird
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Thunderbird is located in Torrance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thunderbird

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Belen and extending to:

  • Los Lunas, which is the Seat of Valencia County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Belen to Los Lunas, with an average speed<2> 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.
  • Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 84 miles [135.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,662 miles [2,674.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 65 days and walking would take 95 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,220 miles [11,619.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,979 miles [12,841 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,894 miles [9,485.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Belen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Belen 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 Belen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6628, Longitude: -106.7762    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 327.274 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.387 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.334 degrees.