Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Vleck, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Vleck and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Vleck
- 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 Van Vleck:
- 29.017998, -95.889549
- 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 Van Vleck
- 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 Matagorda County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Matagorda County
- Since Van Vleck is near Brazoria County and also Wharton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Brazoria County
- eBird sighting report for Wharton 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 Van Vleck ...
We found one communities that share the name Van Vleck.
Within Texas, the name Van Vleck is unique.
Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Van Vleck in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Vleck ...
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.
- Buckeye
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Cedar Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
- Cedar Lake is located in Matagorda County
- Four Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Brazoria County
- Lane City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane City
- Lane City is located in Wharton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane City <3>
- Magnet
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Pledger
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
- Pledger is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <3>
- Sugar Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Valley
- Sugar Valley is located in Matagorda County
- Wild Peach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Peach
- Wild Peach is located in Brazoria County
- Wild Peach Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Peach Village
- Wild Peach Village is located in Brazoria County
How Far From Van Vleck 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 Van Vleck to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Vleck and extending to:
- Bay City, which is the Seat of Matagorda County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Van Vleck to Austin, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,273 miles [2,048.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 50 days and walking would take 73 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,146 miles [11,500.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,866 miles [12,659.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,742 miles [9,240.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Vleck. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Matagorda County: www.co.matagorda.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Van Vleck) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Vleck. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.0180, Longitude: -95.8895 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Van Vleck 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 318.81 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.676 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.64 degrees. |