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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gila, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gila 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 Gila:
    • 32.964554, -108.577430
    • 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 Gila
  • 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 Grant County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grant County
    • Since Gila is near San Miguel County and also Catron County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Miguel County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Catron 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 Gila

Communities Also Named Gila ...

We found two communities that are also named Gila.

Within New Mexico, the name Gila is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Jasper County
      • This Gila is located in Jasper County and lies 1,207 miles [1,942.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Gila that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Gila.
    • Missouri
      • Dent County
      • This Gila is located in Dent County and lies 1,020 miles [1,641.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Gila that is located in Grant County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dent County community of Gila.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gila ...

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.

  • Black Hawk ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Black Hawk is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
  • Cliff
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Gunn Place ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Gunn Place is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn Place
  • Little Walnut Village
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Masons Mill ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Masons Mill is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masons Mill
  • Redrock
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Redstone
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Redstone is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
  • Silver City
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Steeplerock ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Steeplerock is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeplerock
  • Telegraph ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Telegraph is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telegraph

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

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

  • Silver City, which is the Seat of Grant County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Gila to Silver City, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day 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 239 miles [384.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,800 miles [2,896.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 71 days and walking would take 103 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,374 miles [11,867.3 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 8,134 miles [13,090.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,050 miles [9,736.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gila) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Gila 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 Gila. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.9646, Longitude: -108.5774    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 328.379 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 326.536 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 320.333 degrees.