RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oregon >> Multnomah County >> South Portland >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in South Portland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Portland and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 South Portland:
    • 45.487619, -122.682596
    • 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 South Portland
  • 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 Multnomah County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Multnomah County
    • Since South Portland is near Clackamas County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clackamas County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington 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 South Portland

Communities Also Named South Portland ...

We found one communities that are also named South Portland.

Within Oregon, the name South Portland is unique.

Beyond Oregon, there is another community also named South Portland in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maine
      • Cumberland County
      • This South Portland is located in Cumberland County and lies 2,534 miles [4,078.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the South Portland that is located in Multnomah County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of South Portland.

Curious and Interesting Names Near South Portland ...

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.

  • Bell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bell is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
  • Bridlemile
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Bridlemile is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridlemile
  • Elk Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Elk Rock is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Rock
  • Errol
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Errol is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errol
  • Errol Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Errol Heights is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errol Heights
  • Fair Oaks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Fair Oaks is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
  • Garden Home
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden Home is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Home
  • Golf Junction
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Golf Junction is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golf Junction
  • Green Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Hills is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hills
  • Kellogg Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kellogg Park is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg Park
  • Kings Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kings Heights is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Heights
  • Knight
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Knight is located in Clackamas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knight
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Ladd
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Ladd is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
    • Ladds Circle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ladds Circle is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladds Circle
    • Maplewood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Maplewood is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
    • Riverwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Riverwood is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
    • Sentinel Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Sentinel Hill is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel Hill
    • Vermont Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Vermont Hills is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermont Hills

How Far From South Portland 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 South Portland 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<2> community of South Portland once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in South Portland and extending to:

  • Portland, which is the Seat of Multnomah County, lies just to the North.
  • Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 41 miles [66 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from South Portland to Salem, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,346 miles [3,775.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 134 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,917 miles [11,131.8 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 7,679 miles [12,358.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,792 miles [9,321.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- South Portland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 South Portland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 South Portland 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 South Portland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4876, Longitude: -122.6826       In this case, the coordinates for South Portland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 341.053 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.533 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.127 degrees.