Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Monte Alto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Monte Alto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Monte Alto
- 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 Monte Alto:
- 26.373125, -97.971669
- 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 Monte Alto
- 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 Monte Alto is near Willacy County and also Cameron County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Willacy County
- eBird sighting report for Cameron 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 Monte Alto ...
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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Catherine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Delta - Rodger
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delta - Rodger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta - Rodger
- Delta - Rodger is located in Hidalgo County
- Delta - Rodger has also been known as:
- Delta - Rodger Colonia
- Delta West
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delta West have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta West
- Delta West is located in Hidalgo County
- Delta West has also been known as:
- Delta West Colonia
- Evergreen
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Imperial
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Jessups
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Matt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Meadow Lands
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Lands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lands
- Meadow Lands is located in Hidalgo County
- Meadow Lands has also been known as:
- Meadow Lands Colonia
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Merrill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Sandy Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Sandy Ridge is located in Hidalgo County
- Sandy Ridge has also been known as:
- Sandy Ridge Colonia
- Spring Gardens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gardens
- Spring Gardens is located in Hidalgo County
- Spring Gardens has also been known as:
- Spring Gardens Colonia
- Summerwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwood
- Summerwood is located in Hidalgo County
- Summerwood has also been known as:
- Summerwood Colonia
- Tower Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights
- Tower Heights is located in Hidalgo County
- Tower Heights has also been known as:
- Tower Heights Colonia
- Twin Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Merrill
How Far From Monte Alto 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 Monte Alto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Monte Alto and extending to:
- Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Monte Alto to Edinburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 269 miles [432.9 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 1,487 miles [2,393.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,368 miles [11,857.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,085 miles [13,011.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,961 miles [9,593.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Monte Alto. 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Monte Alto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Monte Alto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.3731, Longitude: -97.9717 In this case, the coordinates for Monte Alto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Monte Alto to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.689 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.374 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.659 degrees. |