Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Zena, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Zena and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Zena
- 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 Zena:
- 45.008718, -123.129684
- 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 Zena
- 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since Zena is near Marion County and also Yamhill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- eBird sighting report for Yamhill 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 Zena ...
We found two communities that share the name Zena.
Within Oregon, the name Zena is unique.
Beyond Oregon, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New York
- Oklahoma
Curious and Interesting Names Near Zena ...
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.
- Badger Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger Corner
- Badger Corner is located in Marion County
- Bowersville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bowersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowersville
- Bowersville is located in Polk County
- Brush College
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brush College have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush College
- Brush College is located in Polk County
- Clear Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Clear Lake is located in Marion County
- Fir Villa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Four Corners
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Marion County
- Hazel Green
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel Green have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Hazel Green is located in Marion County
- Hopewell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Hopewell is located in Yamhill County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopewell <3>
- Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Lincoln
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Lincoln is located in Polk County
- Oak Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Pringle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Tucker ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Unionvale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Wheatland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln
How Far From Zena 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 Zena to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Zena and extending to:
- Dallas, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Zena to Dallas, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies just to the southeast (SE).
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,371 miles [3,815.8 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 93 days and walking would take 135 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,955 miles [11,193 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 7,717 miles [12,419.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,832 miles [9,385.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Zena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Zena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0087, Longitude: -123.1297 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Zena 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 341.397 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.913 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.443 degrees. |