Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in DeSoto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to DeSoto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for DeSoto
- 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 DeSoto:
- 32.589764, -96.857001
- 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 DeSoto
- 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 Dallas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dallas County
- Since DeSoto is near Ellis County and also Tarrant County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ellis County
- eBird sighting report for Tarrant 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 DeSoto ...
We found two communities that share the name DeSoto.
Within Texas, the name DeSoto is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Iowa
Curious and Interesting Names Near DeSoto ...
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.
- Cedar Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in Dallas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47,820 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Hill <2>
- Cedarview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Fruitdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Kingswood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Lisbon ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Oak Leaf
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Pecan Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pecan Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Hill
- Pecan Hill is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 714 people
- Pleasant Run
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Pleasant Run is located in Dallas County
- Red Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Red Oak is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,098 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Oak <2>
- Shamrock
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
How Far From DeSoto 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 city such as DeSoto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in DeSoto and extending to:
- Dallas, which is the Seat of Dallas County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from DeSoto to Dallas, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 168 miles [270.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,190 miles [1,915.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 47 days and walking would take 68 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,996 miles [11,259 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,730 miles [12,440.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,609 miles [9,026.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for DeSoto: www.ci.desoto.tx.us/
The official website for Dallas County: www.dallascounty.org/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- DeSoto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in DeSoto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.5898, Longitude: -96.8570 |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 DeSoto to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.957 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.481 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.707 degrees. |