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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gratz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gratz 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 Gratz:
    • 38.474120, -84.952284
    • 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 Gratz
  • 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 Owen County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Owen County
    • Since Gratz is near Henry County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henry County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 Gratz

Communities Also Named Gratz ...

We found one communities that are also named Gratz.

Within Kentucky, the name Gratz is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Pennsylvania
      • Dauphin County
      • This Gratz is located in Dauphin County and lies 462 miles [743.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Gratz that is located in Owen County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dauphin County community of Gratz.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gratz ...

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.

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

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

  • Owenton, which is the Seat of Owen County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Gratz to Frankfort, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 427 miles [687.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,242 miles [10,045.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,964 miles [11,207.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,840 miles [7,789.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gratz) 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 Gratz 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 Gratz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4741, Longitude: -84.9523       In this case, the coordinates for Gratz have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.708 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.87 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.283 degrees.