Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Santa Elena, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Elena and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Elena
- 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 Elena:
- 26.760054, -98.486406
- 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 Santa Elena
- 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 Starr County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Starr County
- Since Santa Elena is near Hidalgo County and also Jim Hogg County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- eBird sighting report for Jim Hogg 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 Santa Elena ...
We found two communities that share the name Santa Elena.
There is one other community in Texas which is also named Santa Elena.
Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Santa Elena in the United States.
- Communities Located In Texas ...
- Cameron County
- This Santa Elena is located in Cameron County and lies 63 miles [101.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Santa Elena that is located in Starr County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cameron County community of Santa Elena.
- Cameron County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- South Carolina
- Beaufort County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Santa Elena [Beaufort County].
- South Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Elena ...
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.
- Citrus City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Citrus City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus City
- Citrus City is located in Hidalgo County
- Hartland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east) - McCook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
- McCook is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <4>
- Red Gate
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast) - Sammy Martinez
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sammy Martinez have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammy Martinez
- Sammy Martinez is located in Starr County
- Sammy Martinez has also been known as:
- Sammy Martinez Colonia
How Far From Santa Elena 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 Santa Elena to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Santa Elena and extending to:
- Rio Grande City, which is the Seat of Starr County, lies 33 miles [53.1 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Santa Elena to Rio Grande City, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 246 miles [395.9 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,494 miles [2,404.4 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<6> 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).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,089 miles [13,018 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,964 miles [9,598.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Santa Elena. 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- Santa Elena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Elena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.7601, Longitude: -98.4864 In this case, the coordinates for Santa Elena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Santa Elena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Elena to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.10 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.912 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.851 degrees. |