RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
New Mexico

The Commemorative Quarter for New Mexico





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Taos, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Taos 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 Taos:
    • 36.407210, -105.573375
    • 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 Taos
  • 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 Taos ...

We found three communities that share the name Taos.

Within New Mexico, the name Taos is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kansas
      • Marshall County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Marshall County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Taos.
    • Missouri
      • Buchanan County
      • This Taos is located in Buchanan County and lies 623 miles [1,002.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Taos that is located in Taos County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buchanan County community of Taos.
      • Cole County
      • This Taos is located in Cole County and lies 752 miles [1,210.2 km] to the east northeast of the Taos that is located in Taos County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cole County community of Taos.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Taos ...

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.

  • Angel Fire
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Carson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Idlewild
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Kiowa Village
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa Village
    • Kiowa Village is located in Taos County
  • Lakeview Pines
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lobo ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lobo have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobo
    • Lobo is located in Taos County
  • Pilar
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Pot Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pot Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pot Creek
    • Pot Creek is located in Taos County
  • Rock Wall
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Wall have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Wall
    • Rock Wall is located in Taos County
  • Shady Brook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Twining ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twining have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twining
    • Twining is located in Taos County

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

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

  • Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Taos to Santa Fe, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,563 miles [2,515.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 61 days and walking would take 89 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,082 miles [11,397.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,842 miles [12,620.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,758 miles [9,266.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for Taos: www.taosgov.com/

The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Taos, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Taos) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Taos. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4072, Longitude: -105.5734    
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Taos to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 326.607 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.778 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.595 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025