RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Mendocino County >> Rankin >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rankin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rankin 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 Rankin:
    • 38.930456, -123.118892
    • 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 Rankin
  • 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 Mendocino County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mendocino County
    • Since Rankin is near Sonoma County and also Lake County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sonoma County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lake 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 Rankin

Communities Also Named Rankin ...

We found 25 communities that are also named Rankin.

Within California, the name Rankin is unique.

Beyond California, we know of 25 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 25 communities, 24 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Pima County
      • This Rankin is located in Pima County and lies 832 miles [1,339 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pima County community of Rankin.
    • Arkansas
      • Little River County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Rankin [Little River County].
      • Perry County
      • This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Rankin [Perry County].
    • Illinois
      • Saint Clair County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Rankin [Saint Clair County].
      • Vermilion County
      • This Rankin is located in Vermilion County and lies 1,861 miles [2,995 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vermilion County community of Rankin.
    • Kentucky
      • Clark County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Rankin [Clark County].
      • Henderson County
      • This Rankin is located in Henderson County and lies 1,913 miles [3,078.7 km]<1> to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henderson County community of Rankin.
      • Wayne County
      • This Rankin is located in Wayne County and lies 2,074 miles [3,337.8 km] to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Rankin.
    • Michigan
      • Genesee County
      • This Rankin is located in Genesee County and lies 2,053 miles [3,304 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Genesee County community of Rankin.
      • Oceana County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Rankin [Oceana County].
    • Mississippi
      • Rankin County
      • This Rankin is located in Rankin County and lies 1,908 miles [3,070.6 km]<1> to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rankin County community of Rankin.
    • Missouri
      • Andrew County
      • This Rankin is located in Andrew County and lies 1,498 miles [2,410.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Andrew County community of Rankin.
    • North Carolina
      • Guilford County
      • This Rankin is located in Guilford County and lies 2,359 miles [3,796.4 km]<1> to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Guilford County community of Rankin.
      • Mecklenburg County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Rankin [Mecklenburg County].
      • Pender 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 North Carolina community of Rankin [Pender County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Roger Mills County
      • This Rankin is located in Roger Mills County and lies 1,291 miles [2,077.7 km]<1> to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roger Mills County community of Rankin.
    • Ontario
      • This Rankin lies 2,288 miles [3,682.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Rankin is located in Allegheny County and lies 2,277 miles [3,664.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Rankin.
    • Tennessee
      • Cocke County
      • This Rankin is located in Cocke County and lies 2,177 miles [3,503.5 km]<1> to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cocke County community of Rankin.
      • Maury County
      • This Rankin is located in Maury County and lies 1,985 miles [3,194.5 km] to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maury County community of Rankin.
    • Texas
      • Ellis County
      • This Rankin is located in Ellis County and lies 1,548 miles [2,491.3 km]<1> to the east of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ellis County community of Rankin.
      • Hidalgo County
      • This Rankin is located in Hidalgo County and lies 1,690 miles [2,719.8 km] to the east southeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hidalgo County community of Rankin.
      • Upton County
      • This Rankin is located in Upton County and lies 1,305 miles [2,100.2 km] to the east southeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Upton County community of Rankin.
    • Washington
      • Lewis County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Rankin [Lewis County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Kewaunee County
      • This Rankin is located in Kewaunee County and lies 1,860 miles [2,993.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rankin that is located in Mendocino County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kewaunee County community of Rankin.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rankin ...

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.

  • Asylum
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Asylum is located in Mendocino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asylum
  • Big Valley Rancheria
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Black Oaks
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Oaks is located in Sonoma County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oaks
  • Cloverdale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Hermitage ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hermitage is located in Mendocino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
  • Hopland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Little Penny
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Little Penny is located in Mendocino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Penny
  • Oasis
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Oasis is located in Mendocino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oasis
  • Presswood
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Presswood is located in Mendocino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Presswood
  • Soda Bay
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Rankin once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Rankin and extending to:

  • Ukiah, which is the Seat of Mendocino County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rankin to Ukiah, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 91 miles [146.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,448 miles [3,939.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 96 days and walking would take 139 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,352 miles [11,831.9 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 8,118 miles [13,064.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,190 miles [9,961.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>'

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- Rankin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rankin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Rankin 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.
<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 Rankin 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 Rankin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9305, Longitude: -123.1189       In this case, the coordinates for Rankin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.913 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.061 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.60 degrees.