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 Rock Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock Ridge and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Rock Ridge:
    • 28.302509, -81.937024
    • 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 Rock Ridge
  • 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 Rock Ridge ...

We found five communities that share the name Rock Ridge.

Within Florida, the name Rock Ridge is unique.

Beyond Florida, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County and lies 457 miles [735.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rock Ridge that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Rock Ridge.
    • Colorado
      • Douglas 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 Colorado community of Rock Ridge [Douglas County].
    • Connecticut
      • Fairfield County
      • This Rock Ridge is located in Fairfield County and lies 996 miles [1,602.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rock Ridge that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Rock Ridge.
    • Manitoba
      • This Rock Ridge lies 1,866 miles [3,003 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Rock Ridge that is located in Polk County.
    • North Carolina
      • Wilson County
      • This Rock Ridge is located in Wilson County and lies 558 miles [898 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rock Ridge that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wilson County community of Rock Ridge.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock Ridge ...

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.

  • Berry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry
    • Berry is located in Polk County
  • Clay Sink
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay Sink have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Sink
    • Clay Sink is located in Pasco County
  • Crystal Springs
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
  • Fox Town
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Town
    • Fox Town is located in Polk County
  • Green Pond
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
    • Green Pond is located in Polk County
  • Griffin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Griffin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
    • Griffin is located in Polk County
  • Kathleen
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Orangedale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orangedale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangedale
    • Orangedale is located in Polk County
  • Providence
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Providence is located in Polk County
  • Tommytown
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tommytown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tommytown
    • Tommytown is located in Pasco County
  • Zephyrhills
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Bartow, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rock Ridge to Bartow, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 204 miles [328.3 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 783 miles [1,260.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,579 miles [10,587.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,248 miles [11,664.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,147 miles [8,283.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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

The official website for Polk County: www.polk-county.net/

The official website for State of Florida: https://www.myflorida.com/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rock Ridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.3025, Longitude: -81.9370       In this case, the coordinates for Rock Ridge 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 Rock Ridge 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 Rock Ridge 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 310.579 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.986 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.651 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025