RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Cameron County >> Central Estates >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Central Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Central Estates 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 Central Estates:
    • 25.956469, -97.443316
    • 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 Central Estates
  • 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 Cameron County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
    • Since Central Estates is near Hidalgo County and also Willacy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Willacy 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 Central Estates

Communities Also Named Central Estates ...

We found one communities that are also named Central Estates.

Within Texas, the name Central Estates is unique.

Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Central Estates in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Louisiana
      • East Baton Rouge Parish
      • This Central Estates is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Central Estates that is located in Cameron County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Central Estates.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Central Estates ...

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.

  • Angel Haven
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Angel Haven is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel Haven
    • Angel Haven has also been known as:
    • Angel Haven Colonia
  • Four Corners
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Four Corners is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Graham
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Graham is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
    • Graham has also been known as:
    • Graham Colonia
  • Green Valley Farms
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Valley Farms is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley Farms
    • Green Valley Farms has also been known as:
    • Green Valley Farms Colonia
  • Illinois Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Illinois Heights is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois Heights
    • Illinois Heights has also been known as:
    • Illinois Heights Colonia
  • Indian Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Lake is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
  • Jaime Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jaime Lake is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaime Lake
    • Jaime Lake has also been known as:
    • Jaime Lake Colonia
  • Palm Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Palm Grove is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Grove
  • Stardust
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Stardust is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stardust
    • Stardust has also been known as:
    • Stardust Colonia

How Far From Central Estates 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 Central Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Brownsville, which is the Seat of Cameron County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Central Estates to Austin, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 17 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,481 miles [2,383.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,368 miles [11,857.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,083 miles [13,008.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,958 miles [9,588.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Central Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Central Estates 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 Central Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 25.9565, Longitude: -97.4433       In this case, the coordinates for Central Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.267 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.819 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.467 degrees.