RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Harris County >> Glen Iris >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Glen Iris, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Glen Iris and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Glen Iris:
    • 29.635200, -95.426300
    • 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 Glen Iris
  • 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 Harris County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Harris County
    • Since Glen Iris is near Fort Bend County and also Brazoria County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fort Bend County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Brazoria 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 Glen Iris

Communities Also Named Glen Iris ...

We found one communities that are also named Glen Iris.

Within Texas, the name Glen Iris is unique.

Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Glen Iris in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Glen Iris is located in Jefferson County and lies 572 miles [920.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Glen Iris that is located in Harris County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Glen Iris.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Glen Iris ...

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.

  • Kennedy Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Kennedy Heights is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy Heights
  • Linkwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Linkwood is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkwood
  • Main Street Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Main Street Gardens is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Main Street Gardens
  • Maplewood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Maplewood is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
  • Paradise Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Paradise Valley is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Valley
  • Pierce Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pierce Junction is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Junction
  • Post Oak Village
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Post Oak Village is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Village
  • Sunny Side
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunny Side is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
  • Sunnyside Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Sunnyside Gardens is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside Gardens
  • Tiffany Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tiffany Gardens is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffany Gardens
  • Willow Bend
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow Bend is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Bend
  • Willow Brook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow Brook is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Brook
  • Woodside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Woodside is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
  • Woodside Plaza
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Woodside Plaza is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Plaza

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

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

  • Houston, which is the Seat of Harris County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Glen Iris to Houston, with an average speed<2> 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 145 miles [233.4 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,225 miles [1,971.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 70 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,096 miles [11,419.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,816 miles [12,578.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,692 miles [9,160.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Glen Iris) 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 Glen Iris 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 Glen Iris. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.6352, Longitude: -95.4263       In this case, the coordinates for Glen Iris have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.608 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.517 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.393 degrees.