RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Portage, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portage 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 Portage:
    • 48.584010, -121.390405
    • 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 Portage
  • 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 Portage ...

We found 22 communities that share the name Portage.

There is one other community in Washington which is also named Portage.

Beyond Washington, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 21 communities, nineteen are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Washington ...
    • King County
      • This Portage is located in King County and lies 94 miles [151.3 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Portage.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alaska community of Portage.
    • Illinois
      • Jo Daviess County
      • This Portage is located in Jo Daviess County and lies 1,545 miles [2,486.4 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jo Daviess County community of Portage.
    • Indiana
      • Hamilton County
      • This Portage is located in Hamilton County and lies 1,832 miles [2,948.3 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Portage.
      • Porter County
      • This Portage is located in Porter County and lies 1,720 miles [2,768.1 km] to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Porter County community of Portage.
    • Kansas
      • Rooks County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Portage [Rooks County].
    • Louisiana
      • Saint Landry Parish
      • This Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish and lies 1,990 miles [3,202.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Landry Parish community of Portage.
    • Maine
      • Aroostook County
      • This Portage is located in Aroostook County and lies 2,413 miles [3,883.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aroostook County community of Portage.
    • Michigan
      • Delta County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Portage [Delta County].
      • Kalamazoo County
      • This Portage is located in Kalamazoo County and lies 1,773 miles [2,853.4 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kalamazoo County community of Portage.
    • Minnesota
      • Aitkin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Portage [Aitkin County].
    • Missouri
      • Osage County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Portage [Osage County].
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This Portage is located in Cascade County and lies 477 miles [767.7 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Portage.
    • New Brunswick
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Brunswick community of Portage.
    • New York
      • Livingston County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Portage [Livingston County].
      • Wyoming County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Portage [Wyoming County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Portage lies 2,786 miles [4,483.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
    • Ohio
      • Wood County
      • This Portage is located in Wood County and lies 1,890 miles [3,041.7 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Portage.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria County
      • This Portage is located in Cambria County and lies 2,141 miles [3,445.6 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Portage.
    • Prince Edward Island
      • This Portage lies 2,607 miles [4,195.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
    • Utah
      • Box Elder County
      • This Portage is located in Box Elder County and lies 636 miles [1,023.5 km]<1> to the southeast of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Box Elder County community of Portage.
    • Wisconsin
      • Columbia County
      • This Portage is located in Columbia County and lies 1,556 miles [2,504.1 km]<1> to the east of the Portage that is located in Skagit County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Portage.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Portage ...

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.

  • Birdsview
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birdsview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsview
    • Birdsview is located in Skagit County
  • Concrete
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Corkindale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corkindale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corkindale
    • Corkindale is located in Skagit County
  • Diablo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diablo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diablo
    • Diablo is located in Whatcom County
  • Marblemount
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rockport
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ruby ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Ruby is located in Whatcom County
  • Swede Heaven
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swede Heaven
    • Swede Heaven is located in Snohomish County
  • White Horse
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Horse have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse
    • White Horse is located in Snohomish County

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

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

  • Mount Vernon, which is the Seat of Skagit County, lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Portage to Mount Vernon, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 127 miles [204.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,276 miles [3,662.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 130 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,695 miles [10,774.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,457 miles [12,000.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,579 miles [8,978.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>

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

The official website for Skagit County: www.skagitcounty.net/

The official website for State of Washington: https://wa.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- Portage) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portage. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.5840, Longitude: -121.3904       In this case, the coordinates for Portage have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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 Portage 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.
<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 Portage 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 340.137 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.628 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.058 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025