Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dawson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dawson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dawson
- 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 Dawson:
- 36.664779, -104.775154
- 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 Dawson
- 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 Colfax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Colfax County
- Since Dawson is near Las Animas County and also Taos County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Las Animas County
- eBird sighting report for Taos 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 Dawson ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Dawson.
Within New Mexico, the name Dawson is unique.
Beyond New Mexico, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 26 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nodaway County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Dawson [Nodaway County].
- Wright County
- This Dawson is located in Wright County and lies 688 miles [1,107.2 km]<1> to the east of the Dawson that is located in Colfax County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wright County community of Dawson.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Beaver County
- This Dawson is located in Beaver County and lies 1,338 miles [2,153.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Dawson that is located in Colfax County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaver County community of Dawson.
- Cambria County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Dawson [Cambria County].
- Fayette County
- This Dawson is located in Fayette County and lies 1,375 miles [2,212.8 km] to the east northeast of the Dawson that is located in Colfax County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Dawson.
- Forest County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Dawson [Forest County].
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Yukon
- This Dawson lies 2,371 miles [3,815.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Dawson that is located in Colfax County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dawson ...
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.
- Brilliant ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brilliant
- Brilliant is located in Colfax County
- Deep Tunnel ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep Tunnel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Tunnel
- Deep Tunnel is located in Colfax County
- French
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Hebron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east) - Maxwell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Maxwell is located in Colfax County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maxwell <4>
- Six Mile Gate
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Six Mile Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Mile Gate
- Six Mile Gate is located in Colfax County
- Springer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springer
- Springer is located in Colfax County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springer <4>
- Sunny Side
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunny Side have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Sunny Side is located in Colfax County
How Far From Dawson 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 Dawson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<5> community of Dawson once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Dawson and extending to:
- Raton, which is the Seat of Colfax County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dawson to Raton, with an average speed<6> 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 94 miles [151.3 km] to the southwest (SW). 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 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,515 miles [2,438.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 60 days and walking would take 86 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,043 miles [11,334.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,802 miles [12,556.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,716 miles [9,199 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/
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- Dawson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dawson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6648, Longitude: -104.7752 |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Dawson 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> | 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 Dawson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Dawson 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 326.046 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.142 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.157 degrees. |