RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Hidalgo County >> Val Verde >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Val Verde, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Val Verde 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 Val Verde:
    • 26.176186, -98.081118
    • 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 Val Verde
  • 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 Val Verde is near Cameron County and also Willacy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Willacy 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 Val Verde

Communities Also Named Val Verde ...

We found five communities that are also named Val Verde.

There is one other community in Texas that is also named Val Verde.

Beyond Texas, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Texas ...
    • Milam County
      • This Val Verde is located in Milam County and lies 325 miles [523 km]<1> to the north of the Val Verde that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Milam County community of Val Verde.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Yavapai County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Yavapai County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yavapai County community of Val Verde.
    • California
      • Los Angeles County
      • This Val Verde is located in Los Angeles County and lies 1,349 miles [2,171 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Val Verde that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Val Verde.
      • Riverside County
      • This Val Verde is located in Riverside County and lies 1,260 miles [2,027.8 km] to the west northwest of the Val Verde that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Riverside County community of Val Verde.
    • New Mexico
      • Colfax County
      • This Val Verde is located in Colfax County and lies 741 miles [1,192.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Val Verde that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colfax County community of Val Verde.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Val Verde ...

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 Retreat
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Citrus Retreat is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus Retreat
    • Citrus Retreat has also been known as:
    • Citrus Retreat Colonia
  • Clark
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Clark is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
    • Clark has also been known as:
    • Clark Colonia
  • Delta Court
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Delta Court is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta Court
    • Delta Court has also been known as:
    • Delta Court Colonia
  • Flora
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Flora is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
    • Flora has also been known as:
    • Flora Colonia
  • High Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • High Point is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • High Point has also been known as:
    • High Point Colonia
  • Isaacs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Isaacs is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaacs
    • Isaacs has also been known as:
    • Isaacs Colonia
  • Lunar Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Lunar Heights is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunar Heights
    • Lunar Heights has also been known as:
    • Lunar Heights Colonia
  • Paradise Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Paradise Park is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Park
    • Paradise Park has also been known as:
    • Paradise Park Colonia
  • Rosedale Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Rosedale Heights is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale Heights
    • Rosedale Heights has also been known as:
    • Rosedale Heights Colonia
  • Scissors
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Scissors is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scissors
  • Sun Grove Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Sun Grove Park is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Grove Park
    • Sun Grove Park has also been known as:
    • Sun Grove Park Colonia

How Far From Val Verde 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 Val Verde to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Val Verde and extending to:

  • Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Val Verde to Edinburg, with an average speed<3> 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 283 miles [455.4 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,501 miles [2,415.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 86 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,382 miles [11,880.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,100 miles [13,035.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,975 miles [9,615.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Val Verde) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Val Verde, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Val Verde 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 Val Verde. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.1762, Longitude: -98.0811       In this case, the coordinates for Val Verde have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.722 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.387 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.712 degrees.