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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 Santa Cruz Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Cruz Estates 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 Santa Cruz Estates:
- 26.342292, -98.119175
- 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 Santa Cruz Estates
- 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- Since Santa Cruz Estates is near Willacy County and also Cameron County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Willacy County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Santa Cruz Estates
Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Cruz Estates ...
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.
- Cottonwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cottonwood is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood has also been known as:
- Cottonwood Colonia
- Edinburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Evergreen is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Lull
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Lull is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lull
- Meadow Lands
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Meadow Lands is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lands
- Meadow Lands has also been known as:
- Meadow Lands Colonia
- Merrill
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Merrill is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
- Merrill has also been known as:
- Merrill Colonia
- Sandy Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Sandy Ridge has also been known as:
- Sandy Ridge Colonia
- Seminary Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
- Seminary Village has also been known as:
- Seminary Village Colonia
- Spring Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Spring Gardens is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gardens
- Spring Gardens has also been known as:
- Spring Gardens Colonia
- Summerwood
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Summerwood is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwood
- Summerwood has also been known as:
- Summerwood Colonia
- Tower Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tower Heights is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights
- Tower Heights has also been known as:
- Tower Heights Colonia
- Twin Lake
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Twin Lake is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lake
- Twin Lake has also been known as:
- Twin Lake Colonia
How Far From Santa Cruz Estates 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 Santa Cruz Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Santa Cruz Estates and extending to:
- Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 271 miles [436.1 km]<2> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Santa Cruz Estates to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,495 miles [2,406 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,375 miles [11,868.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,093 miles [13,024.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,969 miles [9,606.2 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Santa Cruz Estates) 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 Santa Cruz Estates 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 Santa Cruz Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.3423, Longitude: -98.1192 In this case, the coordinates for Santa Cruz Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.779 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.477 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.72 degrees. |
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