RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Aransas County >> City-by-the Sea >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in City-by-the Sea, we use the following websites to find information relevant to City-by-the Sea 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 City-by-the Sea:
    • 27.951688, -97.104990
    • 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 City-by-the Sea
  • 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 City-by-the Sea ...

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.

  • Crescent Center
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Center
    • Crescent Center is located in San Patricio County
  • Gregory
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
    • Gregory is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gregory <2>
  • Harbor City ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
    • Harbor City is located in San Patricio County
  • Mustang Beach
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mustang Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Beach
    • Mustang Beach is located in Nueces County
  • Palm Harbor
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palm Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Harbor
    • Palm Harbor is located in Aransas County
  • Rockport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
    • Rockport is located in Aransas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,847 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
  • Shell Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Ridge
    • Shell Ridge is located in Aransas County
  • Tradewinds
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tradewinds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradewinds
    • Tradewinds is located in San Patricio County

How Far From City-by-the Sea 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 City-by-the Sea to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in City-by-the Sea and extending to:

  • Rockport, which is the Seat of Aransas County, lies just to the North Northeast.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 164 miles [263.9 km]<3> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from City-by-the Sea to Austin, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,376 miles [2,214.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 79 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,250 miles [11,667.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,970 miles [12,826.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,846 miles [9,408.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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- City-by-the Sea) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in City-by-the Sea. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.9517, Longitude: -97.1050       In this case, the coordinates for City-by-the Sea 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 City-by-the Sea 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 319.418 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.256 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.22 degrees.