Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in El Centro, we use the following websites to find information relevant to El Centro and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for El Centro
- 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 El Centro:
- 26.680335, -98.433349
- 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 El Centro
- 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 Starr County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Starr County
- Since El Centro is near Hidalgo County and also Jim Hogg County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- eBird sighting report for Jim Hogg 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 El Centro ...
We found ten communities that share the name El Centro.
Within Texas, the name El Centro is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
In addition to the above occurrences of El Centro, we know of eight communities located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- West Virginia
- Communities Beyond North America ...
- Colombia
- - Santander
- Distance: 2,117 miles [3,407 km]<1> to the southeast
- - Cundinamarca
- Distance: 2,222 miles [3,576 km] to the southeast
- Dominican Republic
- - Hato Mayor
- Distance: 1,916 miles [3,083.5 km]<1> to the east
- - Santo Domingo
- Distance: 1,900 miles [3,057.8 km] to the east southeast
- Mexico
- Distance: 380 miles [611.6 km]<1> to the southwest
- Puerto Rico
- Distance: 2,121 miles [3,413.4 km]<1> to the east
- El Salvador
- Distance: 1,040 miles [1,673.7 km]<1> to the southeast
- Venezuela
- Distance: 2,043 miles [3,287.9 km]<1> to the east southeast
- Colombia
Curious and Interesting Names Near El Centro ...
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.
- Carol
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south) - Citrus City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Citrus City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus City
- Citrus City is located in Hidalgo County
- Cottonwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Hidalgo County
- Cottonwood has also been known as:
- Cottonwood Colonia
- Hartland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Hill-Top
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south) - Inspiration Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inspiration Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inspiration Heights
- Inspiration Heights is located in Hidalgo County
- Inspiration Heights has also been known as:
- Inspiration Heights Colonia
- Inspiration Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inspiration Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inspiration Point
- Inspiration Point is located in Hidalgo County
- Inspiration Point has also been known as:
- Inspiration Point Colonia
- McCook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
- McCook is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <4>
- Red Gate
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast) - River Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
- River Bend is located in Hidalgo County
- River Bend has also been known as:
- River Bend Colonia
- Sammy Martinez
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sammy Martinez have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammy Martinez
- Sammy Martinez is located in Starr County
- Sammy Martinez has also been known as:
- Sammy Martinez Colonia
- Seminary Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
- Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Seminary Village has also been known as:
- Seminary Village Colonia
How Far From El Centro 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 El Centro to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in El Centro and extending to:
- Rio Grande City, which is the Seat of Starr County, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from El Centro to Rio Grande City, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 251 miles [403.9 km] to the north (N). 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 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,495 miles [2,406 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,370 miles [11,860.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,090 miles [13,019.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,965 miles [9,599.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for El Centro. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- El Centro) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in El Centro. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.6803, Longitude: -98.4333 In this case, the coordinates for El Centro have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 El Centro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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 El Centro 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 320.05 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.842 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.833 degrees. |