Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Otis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Otis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Otis
- 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 Otis:
- 32.351230, -104.168556
- 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 Otis
- 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 Otis is near Lea County and also Reeves County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lea County
- eBird sighting report for Reeves 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 Otis ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Otis.
Within New Mexico, the name Otis is unique.
Beyond New Mexico, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Florida
- Duval County
- This Otis is located in Duval County and lies 1,318 miles [2,121.1 km]<1> to the east of the Otis that is located in Eddy County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of Otis.
- Hillsborough County
- This Otis is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,330 miles [2,140.4 km] to the east of the Otis that is located in Eddy County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Otis.
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Graham 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 Kansas community of Otis [Graham County].
- Rush County
- This Otis is located in Rush County and lies 514 miles [827.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Otis that is located in Eddy County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rush County community of Otis.
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- New Brunswick
- This Otis lies 2,164 miles [3,482.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Otis that is located in Eddy County.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Otis ...
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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- 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
- Four Forks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Forks
- Four Forks is located in Eddy County
- Lookout ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Lookout Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lookout Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout Crossing
- Lookout Crossing is located in Eddy County
- Loving
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loving have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loving
- Loving is located in Eddy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,372 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loving <4>
- Pierce Canyon Crossing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce Canyon Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Canyon Crossing
- Pierce Canyon Crossing is located in Eddy County
- Red Bluff
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south) - Rock House Crossing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock House Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock House Crossing
- Rock House Crossing is located in Eddy County
- Seven Rivers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- 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 Otis 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 Otis 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 Otis once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Otis and extending to:
- Carlsbad, which is the Seat of Eddy County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 251 miles [403.9 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Otis to Santa Fe, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,269 miles [11,698.3 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 8,020 miles [12,906.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,915 miles [9,519.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Eddy County: www.caverns.net/ecourt/
The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.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 from Point A (ie- Otis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.3512, Longitude: -104.1686 In this case, the coordinates for Otis 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 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 Otis 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 Otis, 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 Otis 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 325.01 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 322.436 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.142 degrees. |