Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Balsora, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Balsora and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Balsora
- 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 Balsora:
- 33.116229, -97.851979
- 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 Balsora
- 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 Wise County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wise County
- Since Balsora is near Jack County and also Parker County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jack County
- eBird sighting report for Parker 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 Balsora ...
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.
- Advance
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Cottondale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
- Cottondale is located in Wise County
- Lucky Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucky Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Ridge
- Lucky Ridge is located in Wise County
- Paradise
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Paradise is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paradise <2>
- Poolville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poolville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poolville
- Poolville is located in Parker County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poolville <2>
- Runaway Bay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runaway Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Bay
- Runaway Bay is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,627 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Runaway Bay <2>
- Vineyard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Willow Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Point
- Willow Point is located in Wise County
- Wizard Wells
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wizard Wells
- Wizard Wells is located in Jack County
How Far From Balsora to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Balsora to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Balsora and extending to:
- Decatur, which is the Seat of Wise County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Balsora to Decatur, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 196 miles [315.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,226 miles [1,973.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 70 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,005 miles [11,273.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,743 miles [12,461.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,624 miles [9,051 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Balsora. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Wise County: www.co.wise.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Balsora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Balsora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1162, Longitude: -97.8520 In this case, the coordinates for Balsora 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 Balsora 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 320.694 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.414 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.101 degrees. |