Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swift, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swift and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swift
- 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 Swift:
- 31.619942, -94.482999
- 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 Swift
- 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 Nacogdoches County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Nacogdoches County
- Since Swift is near Shelby County and also San Augustine County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- eBird sighting report for San Augustine 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 Swift ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Swift.
Within Texas, the name Swift is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fourteen communities, thirteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- British Columbia
- This Swift lies 1,939 miles [3,120.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Swift that is located in Nacogdoches County.
- Florida
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Tennessee
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swift ...
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.
- Bonita Junction
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonita Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonita Junction
- Bonita Junction is located in Nacogdoches County
- Cedar Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
- Cedar Point is located in Nacogdoches County
- Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Holly Springs is located in Nacogdoches County
- Lacyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Martinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Martinsville is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinsville <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Martinsville
- From Swift to Martinsville
- Plainview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Redfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Redfield
- From Swift to Redfield
- Shady Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Nacogdoches County
- Whispering Pines
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Whispering Pines
- From Swift to Whispering Pines
How Far From Swift 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 Swift to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swift and extending to:
- Nacogdoches, which is the Seat of Nacogdoches County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Swift to Nacogdoches, with an average speed<6> 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 214 miles [344.4 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,102 miles [1,773.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 63 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,956 miles [11,194.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,680 miles [12,359.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,556 miles [8,941.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swift. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Nacogdoches County: www.co.nacogdoches.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Swift) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swift. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.6199, Longitude: -94.4830 In this case, the coordinates for Swift have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Swift could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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 Swift, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Swift to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.275 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.383 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.783 degrees. |