Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mackay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mackay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mackay
- 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 Mackay:
- 29.269971, -96.149683
- 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 Mackay
- 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 Wharton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wharton County
- Since Mackay is near Fort Bend County and also Matagorda County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fort Bend County
- eBird sighting report for Matagorda 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
Communities Also Named Mackay ...
We found three communities that share the name Mackay.
Within Texas, the name Mackay is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of Mackay, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Mackay lies 1,946 miles [3,131.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Mackay that is located in Wharton County.
- Idaho
- Alberta
- Communities Beyond North America ...
- Australia
- Distance: 8,359 miles [13,452.5 km]<1> to the west
- Australia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mackay ...
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.
- Burr
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Egypt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Egypt is located in Wharton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Egypt <3>
- Glen Flora
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Flora
- Glen Flora is located in Wharton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glen Flora <3>
- Jones Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Creek
- Jones Creek is located in Wharton County
- Lane City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane City
- Lane City is located in Wharton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane City <3>
- Magnet
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Pierce
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Pierce is located in Wharton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <3>
- Sand Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Sand Ridge is located in Wharton County
How Far From Mackay to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Mackay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mackay and extending to:
- Wharton, which is the Seat of Wharton County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 117 miles [188.3 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Mackay to Austin, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,275 miles [2,051.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 50 days and walking would take 73 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,143 miles [11,495.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,865 miles [12,657.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,740 miles [9,237.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mackay. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mackay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mackay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.2700, Longitude: -96.1497 In this case, the coordinates for Mackay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Mackay 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 319.018 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.953 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.726 degrees. |