Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rio Rancho, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rio Rancho and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rio Rancho
- 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 Rio Rancho:
- 35.288807, -106.709571
- 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 Rio Rancho
- 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 Bernalillo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bernalillo County
- Since Rio Rancho is near Sandoval County and also Santa Fe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sandoval County
- eBird sighting report for Santa Fe 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rio Rancho ...
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.
- Cedar Crest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
- Cedar Crest is located in Bernalillo County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Crest <2>
- Coyote ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east) - Desert Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Desert Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desert Mountain
- Desert Mountain is located in Sandoval County
- Five Points
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Bernalillo County
- Forest Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
- Forest Park is located in Bernalillo County
- Fruitvale ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Martinez Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinez Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez Town
- Martinez Town is located in Bernalillo County
- Montezuma ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east) - Mountainview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountainview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainview
- Mountainview is located in Bernalillo County
- Paradise Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Hills
- Paradise Hills is located in Bernalillo County
- Sundance Mesa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sundance Mesa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Mesa
- Sundance Mesa is located in Sandoval County
How Far From Rio Rancho to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Rio Rancho to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rio Rancho and extending to:
- Albuquerque, which is the Seat of Bernalillo County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rio Rancho to Albuquerque, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 50 miles [80.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,645 miles [2,647.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 65 days and walking would take 94 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,182 miles [11,558.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,941 miles [12,779.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,858 miles [9,427.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rio Rancho: www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/
The official website for Bernalillo County: www.bernco.gov/
The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rio Rancho) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rio Rancho. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.2888, Longitude: -106.7096 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Rio Rancho to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 327.31 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.496 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.264 degrees. |