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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Port Alto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Port Alto 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 Port Alto:
- 28.660183, -96.414701
- 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 Port 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
- Since Port Alto is near Jackson County and also Matagorda County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Port Alto
Curious and Interesting Names Near Port 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.
- Blessing
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Citrus Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Citrus Grove is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus Grove
- Clark Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Clark Station is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark Station
- Pheasant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pheasant is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant
- Point Comfort
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Red Bluff
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Red Bluff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
- Sixmile
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Sixmile is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
- Tin Top
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tin Top is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Top
- Weedhaven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Port Alto 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 Port 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 Port Alto and extending to:
- Port Lavaca, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Port Alto to Port Lavaca, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 136 miles [218.9 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,313 miles [2,113.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 52 days and walking would take 75 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,186 miles [11,564.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,906 miles [12,723.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,781 miles [9,303.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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- Port Alto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Port Alto 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 Port Alto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.6602, Longitude: -96.4147 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.091 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.961 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.885 degrees. |
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