RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Letcher County >> Banks >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Banks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Banks 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 Banks:
    • 37.084261, -83.021830
    • 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 Banks
  • 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 Letcher County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Letcher County
    • Since Banks is near Perry County and also Harlan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Perry County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Harlan 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 Banks

Communities Also Named Banks ...

We found eighteen communities that are also named Banks.

Within Kentucky, the name Banks is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of eighteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Bibb County
      • This Banks is located in Bibb County and lies 359 miles [577.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Banks.
      • Pike County
      • This Banks is located in Pike County and lies 397 miles [638.9 km] to the south southwest of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Banks.
    • Arkansas
      • Bradley County
      • This Banks is located in Bradley County and lies 574 miles [923.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bradley County community of Banks.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Banks is located in Hillsborough County and lies 645 miles [1,038 km]<1> to the south of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Banks.
    • Idaho
      • Boise County
      • This Banks is located in Boise County and lies 1,788 miles [2,877.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boise County community of Banks.
    • Illinois
      • Cook 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 Illinois community of Banks [Cook County].
    • Kansas
      • Osborne 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 Banks [Osborne County].
    • Louisiana
      • East Baton Rouge Parish
      • 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 Louisiana community of Banks [East Baton Rouge Parish].
    • Minnesota
      • Faribault 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 Banks [Faribault County].
    • Mississippi
      • Tunica County
      • This Banks is located in Tunica County and lies 431 miles [693.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tunica County community of Banks.
    • New Mexico
      • DeBaca County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in DeBaca County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeBaca County community of Banks.
    • New York
      • Cattaraugus 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 Banks [Cattaraugus County].
    • North Carolina
      • Wake County
      • This Banks is located in Wake County and lies 259 miles [416.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wake County community of Banks.
    • North Dakota
      • McKenzie County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Dakota community of Banks [McKenzie County].
    • Ontario
      • This Banks lies 529 miles [851.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
    • Oregon
      • Washington County
      • This Banks is located in Washington County and lies 2,135 miles [3,435.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Banks that is located in Letcher County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Banks.
    • South Carolina
      • Lexington 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 South Carolina community of Banks [Lexington County].
    • West Virginia
      • Banks #
      • 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 West Virginia community of Banks.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Banks ...

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.

  • Blair
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Blair is located in Harlan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
  • Carbon Glow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Carbon Glow is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Glow
  • Chad
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Chad is located in Harlan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chad
  • Daisy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Daisy is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
  • Defeated Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Defeated Creek is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defeated Creek
  • Flint
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Flint is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
  • Gordon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Gordon is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
  • Hot Spot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hot Spot is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Spot
    • Hot Spot has also been known as:
    • Hotspot
  • Indian Bottom
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Bottom is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Bottom
  • Jeremiah
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Kingdom Come
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kingdom Come is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingdom Come
  • Kings Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Kings Creek is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Linefork
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Linefork is located in Letcher County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linefork
    • Sand Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sand Hill is located in Harlan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
    • Skyline
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Skyline is located in Letcher County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
    • Turkey Creek
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Turkey Creek is located in Letcher County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Creek

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

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

  • Whitesburg, which is the Seat of Letcher County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Banks to Whitesburg, with an average speed<5> 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.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 127 miles [204.4 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 348 miles [560.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,228 miles [10,023 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,940 miles [11,168.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,816 miles [7,750.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Banks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Banks 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>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 Banks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Banks 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 Banks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0843, Longitude: -83.0218       In this case, the coordinates for Banks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.514 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.303 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.844 degrees.