Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Balch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Balch and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Balch
- 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 Balch:
- 35.531923, -91.065643
- 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 Balch
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Balch is near Poinsett County and also Cross County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Poinsett County
- eBird sighting report for Cross 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 Balch ...
We found five communities that share the name Balch.
Within Arkansas, the name Balch is unique.
Beyond Arkansas, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Michigan
- Kalamazoo 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 Balch [Kalamazoo County].
- Lenawee 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 Michigan community of Balch [Lenawee County].
- Washington
- Grays Harbor County
- This Balch is located in Grays Harbor County and lies 1,828 miles [2,941.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Balch that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grays Harbor County community of Balch.
- Pierce 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 Washington community of Balch [Pierce County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Balch ...
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.
- Cow Lake ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Eightmile ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Erwin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Fisher
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Grubbs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubbs
- Grubbs is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Hickory Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
- Hickory Ridge is located in Cross County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Johnstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Murphys Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphys Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Corner
- Murphys Corner is located in Jackson County
- Stringers Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringers Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringers Mill
- Stringers Mill is located in Jackson County
- Uno
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
How Far From Balch 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 Balch to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Balch and extending to:
- Newport, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Balch to Newport, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 86 miles [138.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 804 miles [1,293.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 46 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,624 miles [10,660.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,352 miles [11,831.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,228 miles [8,413.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Balch. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jackson County: www.jacksoncountyar.org/
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Balch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Balch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5319, Longitude: -91.0656 |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Balch 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 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 Balch 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 316.464 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.789 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.694 degrees. |