Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Flatonia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Flatonia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Flatonia
- 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 Flatonia:
- 29.687650, -97.108479
- 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 Flatonia
- 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 Fayette County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Flatonia is near Gonzales County and also Lavaca County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Gonzales County
- eBird sighting report for Lavaca 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Flatonia ...
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.
- Cistern
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cistern
- Cistern is located in Fayette County
- Former names for Cistern:
- Cockrell's Hill
- Milton
- Whiteside's Prairie
- Colony
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Comanche Crossing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comanche Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Crossing
- Comanche Crossing is located in Gonzales County
- Elm Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Hackberry ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - High Hill ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Lena
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Little New York
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little New York have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little New York
- Little New York is located in Gonzales County
- Nickel ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Saturn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest) - Swiss Alp
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Flatonia 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 town such as Flatonia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Flatonia and extending to:
- La Grange, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Flatonia to La Grange, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 55 miles [88.5 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,305 miles [2,100.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 75 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,159 miles [11,521.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,885 miles [12,689.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,761 miles [9,271.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Flatonia: www.ci.flatonia.tx.us/
The official website for Fayette County: www.co.fayette.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Flatonia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Flatonia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.6877, Longitude: -97.1085 |
| <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 Flatonia 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 319.708 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.821 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.094 degrees. |