Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in El Refugio, we use the following websites to find information relevant to El Refugio and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for El Refugio
- 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 Refugio:
- 26.340345, -98.755859
- 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 Refugio
- 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 Refugio is near Hidalgo County and also Zapata County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- eBird sighting report for Zapata 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 Refugio ...
We found one communities that share the name El Refugio.
Within Texas, the name El Refugio is unique.
Beyond Texas, there is another community also named El Refugio in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New Mexico
- Bernalillo County
- This El Refugio is located in Bernalillo County and lies 754 miles [1,213.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the El Refugio that is located in Starr County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bernalillo County community of El Refugio.
- New Mexico
Curious and Interesting Names Near El Refugio ...
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.
- Airport Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Airport Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Heights
- Airport Heights is located in Starr County
- Joseph Griggs Colonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joseph Griggs Colonia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joseph Griggs Colonia
- Joseph Griggs Colonia is located in Starr County
- Manuel Garcia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manuel Garcia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manuel Garcia
- Manuel Garcia is located in Starr County
- Manuel Garcia has also been known as:
- Manuel Garcia Colonia
- Mikes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Mitchell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Ratcliff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Salmon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Sammy Martinez
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sammy Martinez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
How Far From El Refugio to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories 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 Refugio to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in El Refugio and extending to:
- Rio Grande City, which is the Seat of Starr County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 278 miles [447.4 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from El Refugio to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,525 miles [2,454.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 60 days and walking would take 87 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,401 miles [11,910.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,121 miles [13,069.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,996 miles [9,649.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for El Refugio. 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- El Refugio) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in El Refugio. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.3403, Longitude: -98.7559 In this case, the coordinates for El Refugio have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Refugio to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.195 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.971 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.979 degrees. |