RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Jackson County >> Laurel Branch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Laurel Branch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch:
    • 37.296160, -84.082456
    • 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 Laurel Branch
  • 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson County
    • Since Laurel Branch is near Laurel County and also Rockcastle County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Laurel County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rockcastle 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 Laurel Branch

Communities Also Named Laurel Branch ...

We found three communities that are also named Laurel Branch.

Within Kentucky, the name Laurel Branch is unique.

Beyond Kentucky, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Charles County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Charles County and lies 395 miles [635.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Laurel Branch that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charles County community of Laurel Branch.
    • Virginia
      • Floyd County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Floyd County and lies 204 miles [328.3 km]<1> to the east of the Laurel Branch that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Floyd County community of Laurel Branch.
    • West Virginia
      • Monroe County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Monroe County and lies 205 miles [329.9 km]<1> to the east of the Laurel Branch that is located in Jackson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Laurel Branch.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Branch ...

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.

  • Bond
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Bond is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
  • Cornelius
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Cornelius is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelius
  • Cruise
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cruise is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruise
  • Cruise Ferry
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cruise Ferry is located in Rockcastle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruise Ferry
  • Greenmount
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenmount is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount
  • Peoples
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Peoples is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoples
  • Seven Pines
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Seven Pines is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Pines
  • Symbol
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Symbol is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symbol
  • Victory
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Victory is located in Laurel County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory

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

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

  • McKee, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Laurel Branch to McKee, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 75 miles [120.7 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 398 miles [640.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,262 miles [10,077.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,978 miles [11,230 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,853 miles [7,810.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel Branch) 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 Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2962, Longitude: -84.0825       In this case, the coordinates for Laurel Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.161 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.075 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.235 degrees.