RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Shelby County >> Duff >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Duff, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Duff 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 Duff:
    • 31.639344, -94.129085
    • 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 Duff
  • 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Since Duff is near San Augustine County and also Sabine County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Augustine County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sabine 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 Duff

Communities Also Named Duff ...

We found six communities that are also named Duff.

Within Texas, the name Duff is unique.

Beyond Texas, we know of six communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Searcy County
      • This Duff is located in Searcy County and lies 311 miles [500.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Duff that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Searcy County community of Duff.
    • Indiana
      • Dubois County
      • This Duff is located in Dubois County and lies 611 miles [983.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Duff that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dubois County community of Duff.
    • Kentucky
      • Grayson County
      • This Duff is located in Grayson County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Duff that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grayson County community of Duff.
    • Nebraska
      • Rock County
      • This Duff is located in Rock County and lies 789 miles [1,269.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Duff that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rock County community of Duff.
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Duff lies 1,404 miles [2,259.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Duff that is located in Shelby County.
    • Tennessee
      • Campbell County
      • This Duff is located in Campbell County and lies 663 miles [1,067 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Duff that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Campbell County community of Duff.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Duff ...

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.

  • Africa ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Africa is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
  • Black Ankle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Ankle is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Ankle
  • Bland Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Bland Lake is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bland Lake
  • Brady
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Brady is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
  • Choice
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Choice is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
  • Harmony
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Harmony is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
  • Jordans Store
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jordans Store is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordans Store
  • Lanetown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lanetown is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanetown
  • Short
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Short is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
  • Sunrise
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Sunrise is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise
  • Union
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Union is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union

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

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

  • Center, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Duff to Center, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 234 miles [376.6 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,083 miles [1,742.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 62 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,941 miles [11,170.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,665 miles [12,335.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,540 miles [8,915.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Duff) 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 Duff 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 Duff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.6393, Longitude: -94.1291       In this case, the coordinates for Duff have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.049 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.121 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.631 degrees.