Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lake Barbara, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lake Barbara and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lake Barbara
- 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 Lake Barbara:
- 29.025246, -95.389384
- 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 Lake Barbara
- 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 Brazoria County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Brazoria County
- Since Lake Barbara is near Matagorda County and also Galveston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Matagorda County
- eBird sighting report for Galveston 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 Lake Barbara ...
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.
- Freeport
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Freeport is located in Brazoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,126 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
- Gulf Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Jones Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Creek
- Jones Creek is located in Brazoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,062 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jones Creek <2>
- Oyster Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oyster Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Creek
- Oyster Creek is located in Brazoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,212 people
- Perry Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry Landing
- Perry Landing is located in Brazoria County
- Richwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
- Richwood is located in Brazoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,015 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richwood <2>
- Snipe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Surfside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Surfside Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surfside Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surfside Beach
- Surfside Beach is located in Brazoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Surfside Beach <2>
How Far From Lake Barbara 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 Lake Barbara to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Lake Barbara and extending to:
- Angleton, which is the Seat of Brazoria County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Lake Barbara to Angleton, with an average speed<4> 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 165 miles [265.5 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,249 miles [2,010.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 71 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,126 miles [11,468.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,844 miles [12,623.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,720 miles [9,205.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lake Barbara. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Brazoria County: www.brazoria-county.com/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lake Barbara) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lake Barbara. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.0252, Longitude: -95.3894 In this case, the coordinates for Lake Barbara 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 Lake Barbara 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 318.491 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.30 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.434 degrees. |