RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Brazoria County >> West Columbia >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Texas

The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in West Columbia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Columbia 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 West Columbia:
    • 29.143653, -95.644282
    • 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 West Columbia
  • 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 West Columbia ...

We found four communities that share the name West Columbia.

Within Texas, the name West Columbia is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Mississippi
      • Marion County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of West Columbia [Marion County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Washington County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of West Columbia [Washington County].
    • South Carolina
      • Lexington County
      • This West Columbia is located in Lexington County and lies 919 miles [1,479 km]<2> to the east northeast of the West Columbia that is located in Brazoria County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lexington County community of West Columbia.
    • West Virginia
      • Mason County
      • This West Columbia is located in Mason County and lies 1,029 miles [1,656 km]<2> to the northeast of the West Columbia that is located in Brazoria County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mason County community of West Columbia.

Curious and Interesting Names Near West Columbia ...

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.

  • Cedar Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Cedar Lake is located in Matagorda County
  • China Grove
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Grove
    • China Grove is located in Brazoria County
  • Four Corners
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Four Corners is located in Brazoria County
  • Guy
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guy
    • Guy is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guy <4>
  • Holiday Lakes
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Lakes
    • Holiday Lakes is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,225 people
  • Jones Creek
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Perry Landing
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry Landing
    • Perry Landing is located in Brazoria County
  • Pledger
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
  • Richwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
    • Richwood is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,015 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richwood <4>
  • Snipe
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snipe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snipe
    • Snipe is located in Brazoria County
  • Sugar Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Valley
    • Sugar Valley is located in Matagorda County
  • Wild Peach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 West Columbia 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 city such as West Columbia to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Angleton, which is the Seat of Brazoria County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from West Columbia to Angleton, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 147 miles [236.6 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 1,256 miles [2,021.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 72 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,130 miles [11,474.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,850 miles [12,633.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,725 miles [9,213.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Columbia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Brazoria County: www.brazoria-county.com/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 West Columbia 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.
<2>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- West Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.1437, Longitude: -95.6443    
<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 West Columbia 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 318.672 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.53 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.528 degrees.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024