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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Westlake Forest, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Westlake Forest and the surrounding area.
- 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 Westlake Forest:
- 29.799900, -95.713400
- 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 Westlake Forest
- 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 Harris County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Harris County
- Since Westlake Forest is near Fort Bend County and also Waller County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Fort Bend County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Waller 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 Westlake Forest
Curious and Interesting Names Near Westlake Forest ...
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.
- Cypress Meadow
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cypress Meadow is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Meadow
- Falcon Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Falcon Point is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Point
- Governor Place
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Governor Place is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Governor Place
- Heritage Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Heritage Meadows is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Meadows
- Meadow Walk
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Meadow Walk is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Walk
- Memorial Parkway
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Memorial Parkway is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Parkway
- Memorial Thicket
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Memorial Thicket is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Thicket
- Paddock
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Paddock is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Rockstone
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rockstone is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockstone
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Rolling Green
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rolling Green is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
- Settlers Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Settlers Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settlers Village
- Silvermill
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Silvermill is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvermill
- Williams Chase
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Williams Chase is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Chase
- Windsong
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Windsong is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong
- Wood Fern
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wood Fern is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Fern
How Far From Westlake Forest to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Westlake Forest to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Westlake Forest and extending to:
- Houston, which is the Seat of Harris County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Westlake Forest to Houston, with an average speed<2> 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 125 miles [201.2 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,232 miles [1,982.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 70 days.
- The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,099 miles [11,424.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,821 miles [12,586.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,696 miles [9,166.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'
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- Westlake Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Westlake Forest 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 Westlake Forest. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.7999, Longitude: -95.7134 In this case, the coordinates for Westlake Forest have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.817 degrees. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.785 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.497 degrees. |
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