Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Zapata Ranch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Zapata Ranch and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Zapata Ranch
- 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 Zapata Ranch:
- 26.357015, -97.829164
- 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 Zapata Ranch
- 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 Willacy County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Willacy County
- Since Zapata Ranch is near Cameron County and also Hidalgo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cameron County
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Zapata Ranch ...
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.
- Big John
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Catherine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Eggers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Elizabeth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - High Land
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Indian Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jessups
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Lisa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Matt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Palm Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Raymondville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymondville
- Raymondville is located in Willacy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,767 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymondville <2>
- Rebecca
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Sandy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Sunrise Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Hill
- Sunrise Hill is located in Hidalgo County
- Sunrise Hill has also been known as:
- Sunrise Hill Colonia
- Windsong Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsong Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
- Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
- Windsong Village has also been known as:
- Windsong Village Colonia
- Palm Valley
How Far From Zapata Ranch 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 Zapata Ranch to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Zapata Ranch and extending to:
- Raymondville, which is the Seat of Willacy County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Zapata Ranch to Raymondville, with an average speed<4> 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 270 miles [434.5 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 1,481 miles [2,383.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,363 miles [11,849.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,080 miles [13,003.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,955 miles [9,583.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Zapata Ranch. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Zapata Ranch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Zapata Ranch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.3570, Longitude: -97.8292 In this case, the coordinates for Zapata Ranch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Zapata Ranch 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 319.594 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.259 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.603 degrees. |