Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in High Land, we use the following websites to find information relevant to High Land and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for High Land
- 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 High Land:
- 26.188408, -97.906389
- 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 High Land
- 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 Hidalgo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- Since High Land is near Cameron County and also Willacy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cameron County
- eBird sighting report for Willacy 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 High Land ...
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.
- Alto Real
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Bixby
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
- Bixby is located in Cameron County
- Elizabeth
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Indian Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Matt
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Mercedes
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes
- Mercedes is located in Hidalgo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,598 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mercedes <2>
- Nancy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Rebecca
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Sunrise
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Sunrise Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Hill
- Sunrise Hill is located in Hidalgo County
- Sunrise Hill has also been known as:
- Sunrise Hill Colonia
- Windsong Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsong Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
- Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
- Windsong Village has also been known as:
- Windsong Village Colonia
How Far From High Land 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 High Land to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in High Land and extending to:
- Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from High Land to Edinburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 281 miles [452.2 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,492 miles [2,401.1 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,375 miles [11,868.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,092 miles [13,022.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,967 miles [9,603 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for High Land. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Hidalgo County: www.co.hidalgo.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- High Land) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in High Land. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.1884, Longitude: -97.9064 In this case, the coordinates for High Land have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 High Land to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.611 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.257 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.641 degrees. |