RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Mills County >> Big Valley >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Texas

The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Valley 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 Big Valley:
    • 31.389609, -98.652544
    • 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 Big Valley
  • 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 Big Valley ...

We found two communities that share the name Big Valley.

Within Texas, the name Big Valley is unique.

Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alberta
      • This Big Valley lies 1,593 miles [2,563.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Big Valley that is located in Mills County.
    • California
      • Calaveras County
      • This Big Valley is located in Calaveras County and lies 1,316 miles [2,117.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Big Valley that is located in Mills County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calaveras County community of Big Valley.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Valley ...

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.

  • China Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Creek
    • China Creek is located in San Saba County
  • Double Ford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Double Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Ford
    • Double Ford is located in Mills County
  • Duke Crossing
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duke Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Crossing
    • Duke Crossing is located in Mills County
  • Locker ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
    • Locker is located in San Saba County
  • Pleasant Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Pleasant Grove is located in Mills County
  • Red Bluff Crossing
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Bluff Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff Crossing
    • Red Bluff Crossing is located in Lampasas County
  • Regency ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Regency have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
    • Regency is located in Mills County
  • Ridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Ridge is located in Mills County
  • Spring Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Spring Creek is located in San Saba County
  • Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williams Ranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
    • Williams Ranch is located in Mills County

How Far From Big Valley 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 Big Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Goldthwaite, which is the Seat of Mills County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 94 miles [151.3 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Big Valley to Austin, 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 6 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 1,321 miles [2,125.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 52 days and walking would take 75 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,127 miles [11,469.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,863 miles [12,654.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,742 miles [9,240.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.3896, Longitude: -98.6525       In this case, the coordinates for Big Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<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 Big Valley 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 320.998 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.558 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.627 degrees.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024