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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downing, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downing and the surrounding area.
- 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 Downing:
- 32.024032, -98.550604
- 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 Downing
- 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 Comanche County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Comanche County
- Since Downing is near Erath County and also Eastland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Erath County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Eastland 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 Downing
Communities Also Named Downing ...
We found sixteen communities that are also named Downing.
Within Texas, the name Downing is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Escambia County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Downing [Escambia County].
- Montgomery County
- This Downing is located in Montgomery County and lies 733 miles [1,179.6 km]<2> to the east of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Downing.
- Colorado
- Las Animas County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Downing [Las Animas County].
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Downing is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,001 miles [1,611 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Downing.
- Kansas
- Coffey County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Downing [Coffey County].
- Morris County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Downing [Morris County].
- Michigan
- Sanilac County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Downing [Sanilac County].
- Tuscola County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Downing [Tuscola County].
- Missouri
- Schuyler County
- This Downing is located in Schuyler County and lies 677 miles [1,089.5 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Schuyler County community of Downing.
- New York
- Montgomery County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Downing [Montgomery County].
- North Dakota
- Richland County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Dakota community of Downing [Richland County].
- Oregon
- Columbia County
- This Downing is located in Columbia County and lies 1,625 miles [2,615.2 km]<2> to the northwest of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Downing.
- Umatilla County
- This Downing is located in Umatilla County and lies 1,424 miles [2,291.7 km] to the northwest of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Umatilla County community of Downing.
- Virginia
- Warren County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Downing [Warren County].
- Washington
- Douglas County
- This Downing is located in Douglas County and lies 1,562 miles [2,513.8 km]<2> to the northwest of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Downing.
- Wisconsin
- Dunn County
- This Downing is located in Dunn County and lies 963 miles [1,549.8 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Downing that is located in Comanche County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dunn County community of Downing.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downing ...
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.
- Comanche
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cottonwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cottonwood is located in Erath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Dublin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Duster
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Duster is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duster
- Edna Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Edna Hill is located in Erath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna Hill
- Hazeldell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hazeldell is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeldell
- Highland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Highland is located in Erath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Stag Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Stag Creek is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stag Creek
How Far From Downing 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 Downing to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Downing and extending to:
- Comanche, which is the Seat of Comanche County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Downing to Comanche, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 130 miles [209.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,295 miles [2,084.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 74 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,089 miles [11,408.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,826 miles [12,594.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,706 miles [9,182.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Downing could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Downing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Downing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Downing 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 Downing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0240, Longitude: -98.5506 In this case, the coordinates for Downing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 321.02 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.663 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.526 degrees. |
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