RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Hidalgo County >> La Mesa >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 La Mesa:
    • 26.213407, -97.933334
    • 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 La Mesa
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
    • Since La Mesa is near Cameron County and also Willacy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for La Mesa

Communities Also Named La Mesa ...

We found three communities that are also named La Mesa.

Within Texas, the name La Mesa is unique.

Beyond Texas, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • San Diego County
      • This La Mesa is located in San Diego County and lies 1,231 miles [1,981.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the La Mesa that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Diego County community of La Mesa.
    • Louisiana
      • Lincoln Parish
      • This La Mesa is located in Lincoln Parish and lies 539 miles [867.4 km]<1> to the north northeast of the La Mesa that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln Parish community of La Mesa.
    • New Mexico
      • Dona Ana County
      • This La Mesa is located in Dona Ana County and lies 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the La Mesa that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dona Ana County community of La Mesa.

Curious and Interesting Names Near La Mesa ...

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.

  • Big John
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Big John is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big John
    • Big John has also been known as:
    • Big John Colonia
  • Catherine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Catherine is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine
    • Catherine has also been known as:
    • Catherine Colonia
  • Delta Court
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Delta Court is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta Court
    • Delta Court has also been known as:
    • Delta Court Colonia
  • Elizabeth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Elizabeth is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
    • Elizabeth has also been known as:
    • Elizabeth Colonia
  • Flora
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Flora is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
    • Flora has also been known as:
    • Flora Colonia
  • High Land
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • High Land is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Land
    • High Land has also been known as:
    • High Land Colonia
  • High Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • High Point is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • High Point has also been known as:
    • High Point Colonia
  • Indian Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Matt
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Matt is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matt
    • Matt has also been known as:
    • Matt Colonia
  • Mercedes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Rebecca
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Rebecca is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
    • Rebecca has also been known as:
    • Rebecca Colonia
  • Sunrise Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Sunrise Hill is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Hill
    • Sunrise Hill has also been known as:
    • Sunrise Hill Colonia

How Far From La Mesa 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 La Mesa to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from La Mesa to Edinburg, with an average speed<3> 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 four to five hours.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 280 miles [450.6 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<4> 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).<5>
  • 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).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,967 miles [9,603 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- La Mesa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 La Mesa 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 La Mesa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.2134, Longitude: -97.9333       In this case, the coordinates for La Mesa have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.633 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.287 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.651 degrees.