RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Henderson County >> Murchison >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Murchison:
    • 32.275218, -95.756083
    • 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 Murchison
  • 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 Henderson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henderson County
    • Since Murchison is near Van Zandt County and also Smith County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Van Zandt County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Smith 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 Murchison

Communities Also Named Murchison ...

We found three communities that are also named Murchison.

Within Texas, the name Murchison is unique.

Beyond Texas, we know of three communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, one is located in the United States and the other two communities are located in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Manitoba
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • North Carolina
      • Yancey County
      • This Murchison is located in Yancey County and lies 806 miles [1,297.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Murchison that is located in Henderson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yancey County community of Murchison.
    • Ontario
      • This Murchison lies 1,314 miles [2,114.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Murchison that is located in Henderson County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Murchison ...

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 Rock
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Rock is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
  • Crescent Heights
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Crescent Heights is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Heights
  • Evelyn
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Evelyn is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evelyn
  • Holly Springs
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Holly Springs is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
  • Leagueville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Leagueville is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leagueville
  • Mars
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Mars is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars
  • Martins Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Martins Mill is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Mill
  • Pickens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Pickens is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickens
  • Shady Oaks
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Shady Oaks is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Oaks
  • Union Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Union Hill is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Virginia Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Virginia Hill is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Hill

How Far From Murchison 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 city such as Murchison to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Athens, which is the Seat of Henderson County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 181 miles [291.3 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Murchison to Austin, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,143 miles [1,839.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 65 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,971 miles [11,218.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,701 miles [12,393.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,578 miles [8,976.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Murchison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Murchison 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 Murchison. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2752, Longitude: -95.7561       In this case, the coordinates for Murchison have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.187 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.537 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.255 degrees.