Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portage Center, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portage Center and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portage Center
- 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 Portage Center:
- 41.124219, -83.727157
- 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 Portage Center
- 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 Hancock County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hancock County
- Since Portage Center is near Wood County and also Putnam County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wood County
- eBird sighting report for Putnam 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 Portage Center ...
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.
- Chase
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Deweyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deweyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deweyville
- Deweyville is located in Hancock County
- Ducat
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Eagleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleville
- Eagleville is located in Wood County
- Jerry City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerry City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerry City
- Jerry City is located in Wood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Lewisburg ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Lewisville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Lewisville is located in Hancock County
- Oil Center ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
- Oil Center is located in Wood County
- Rudolph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Wineland ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
How Far From Portage Center 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 community such as Portage Center to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Portage Center and extending to:
- Findlay, which is the Seat of Hancock County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 88 miles [141.6 km]<3> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Portage Center to Columbus, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 385 miles [619.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,070 miles [9,768.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,799 miles [10,941.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,677 miles [7,526.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portage Center. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Hancock County: www.co.hancock.oh.us/
The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Portage Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portage Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1242, Longitude: -83.7272 In this case, the coordinates for Portage Center have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Portage Center 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 311.904 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.339 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.911 degrees. |