RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Indiana >> Ohio County >> Downey Corner >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Downey Corner, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downey Corner 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 Downey Corner:
    • 38.938670, -85.010230
    • 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 Downey Corner
  • 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 Ohio County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ohio County
    • Since Downey Corner is near Switzerland County and also Dearborn County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Switzerland County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dearborn 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 Downey Corner

Curious and Interesting Names Near Downey Corner ...

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.

  • Aaron
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Aaron is located in Switzerland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aaron
  • Aurora
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Blue
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Blue is located in Ohio County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue
  • Buffalo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo is located in Ohio County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Cold Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Cold Springs is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
  • Cross Plains
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Cross Plains is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
  • Farmers Retreat
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Farmers Retreat is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Retreat
  • Friendship
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Markland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Markland is located in Switzerland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markland
  • Pleasant
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant is located in Switzerland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant
  • Rabbit Hash
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Rabbit Hash is located in Boone County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Hash
    • Former name for Rabbit Hash:
    • Carlton
  • Rising Sun
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Texas
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Texas is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas
  • Utah
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Utah is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utah

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Downey Corner and extending to:

  • Rising Sun, which is the Seat of Ohio County, lies just to the East.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 83 miles [133.6 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Downey Corner to Indianapolis, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 428 miles [688.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,222 miles [10,013.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,946 miles [11,178.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,822 miles [7,760.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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 from Point A (ie- Downey Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Downey Corner 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 Downey Corner. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9387, Longitude: -85.0102       In this case, the coordinates for Downey Corner have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.745 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.98 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.176 degrees.