RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Harris County >> South Houston >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in South Houston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Houston 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 South Houston:
    • 29.661126, -95.228494
    • 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 South Houston
  • 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 South Houston ...

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.

  • Galena Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galena Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Park
    • Galena Park is located in Harris County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,559 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena Park <2>
  • Gloverdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloverdale
    • Gloverdale is located in Harris County
  • Greenway Place
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenway Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway Place
    • Greenway Place is located in Harris County
  • Gulf Palms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Palms have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Palms
    • Gulf Palms is located in Harris County
  • Harrisburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Harrisburg is located in Harris County
  • Highland Meadows
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Meadows
    • Highland Meadows is located in Harris County
  • Humble Camp
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Humble Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humble Camp
    • Humble Camp is located in Harris County
  • Kings Court
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Court have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Court
    • Kings Court is located in Harris County
  • Meadow Creek Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Creek Village
    • Meadow Creek Village is located in Harris County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Pecan Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pecan Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Park
      • Pecan Park is located in Harris County
    • Red Bluff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
      • Red Bluff is located in Harris County
    • Scarsdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scarsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarsdale
      • Scarsdale is located in Harris County
    • Skyscraper Shadows
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyscraper Shadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyscraper Shadows
      • Skyscraper Shadows is located in Harris County
    • Sun Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
      • Sun Valley is located in Harris County
    • Tarrytown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tarrytown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarrytown
      • Tarrytown is located in Harris County

How Far From South Houston 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 South Houston to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in South Houston and extending to:

  • Houston, which is the Seat of Harris County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from South Houston to Houston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 156 miles [251.1 km] to the west northwest (WNW). 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 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,214 miles [1,953.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 69 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,087 miles [11,405.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,807 miles [12,564.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,682 miles [9,144.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- South Houston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Houston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.6611, Longitude: -95.2285       In this case, the coordinates for South Houston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 South Houston to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.484 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.376 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.309 degrees.