Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Strain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Strain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Strain
- 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 Strain:
- 30.133268, -94.548806
- 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 Strain
- 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 Hardin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hardin County
- Since Strain is near Liberty County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Liberty County
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Strain ...
We found three communities that share the name Strain.
Within Texas, the name Strain is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Missouri
Curious and Interesting Names Near Strain ...
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.
- Cow Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cow Island
- Cow Island is located in Liberty County
- Grayburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Hogpen Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hogpen Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hogpen Crossing
- Hogpen Crossing is located in Liberty County
- Hull
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hull have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
- Hull is located in Liberty County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <4>
- Rattlesnake Bead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rattlesnake Bead have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattlesnake Bead
- Rattlesnake Bead is located in Hardin County
- Rock Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Island
- Rock Island is located in Liberty County
- Sour Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sour Lake
- Sour Lake is located in Hardin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,948 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sour Lake <4>
- Tanner Settlement
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tanner Settlement have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanner Settlement
- Tanner Settlement is located in Liberty County
- Whiskey Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whiskey Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiskey Ford
- Whiskey Ford is located in Jefferson County
How Far From Strain 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 Strain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Strain and extending to:
- Kountze, which is the Seat of Hardin County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Strain to Kountze, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 190 miles [305.8 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,162 miles [1,870.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 66 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,035 miles [11,321.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,755 miles [12,480.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,630 miles [9,060.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Strain. 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 from Point A (ie- Strain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Strain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.1333, Longitude: -94.5488 In this case, the coordinates for Strain 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 Strain, 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 Strain 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 318.118 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.007 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.98 degrees. |