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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Dorton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dorton 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 Dorton:
    • 37.278344, -82.580010
    • 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 Dorton
  • 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 Pike County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pike County
    • Since Dorton is near Letcher County and also Floyd County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Letcher County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Floyd 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 Dorton

Communities Also Named Dorton ...

We found one communities that are also named Dorton.

Within Kentucky, the name Dorton is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, there is another community also named Dorton in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Tennessee
      • Cumberland County
      • This Dorton is located in Cumberland County and lies 160 miles [257.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Dorton that is located in Pike County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Dorton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dorton ...

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.

  • Beefhide
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Beefhide is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beefhide
  • Big Card
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Big Card is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Card
  • Bucklick
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bucklick is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucklick
  • Edgewater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Edgewater is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
  • Frogtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Frogtown is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
  • Harley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Harley is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harley
  • Henry Clay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Henry Clay is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry Clay
  • Indian Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Indian Creek is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
  • Lick Fork
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lick Fork is located in Letcher County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Fork
  • Lookout
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lookout is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
  • Lower Long Fork
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lower Long Fork is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Long Fork
  • Marshall Branch
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Marshall Branch is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Branch
  • Penny
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Penny is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penny
  • Turkey Pen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Turkey Pen is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Pen

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

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

  • Pikeville, which is the Seat of Pike County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dorton to Pikeville, with an average speed<2> 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.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 140 miles [225.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 321 miles [516.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,201 miles [9,979.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,913 miles [11,125.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,789 miles [7,707.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Dorton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Dorton 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 Dorton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2783, Longitude: -82.5800    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.247 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.026 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.60 degrees.