Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Prater, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Prater and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Prater
- 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 Prater:
- 38.338969, -83.151843
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Prater
- 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 Carter County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Carter County
- Since Prater is near Lewis County and also Elliott County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lewis County
- eBird sighting report for Elliott 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Prater ...
We found three communities that share the name Prater.
Within Kentucky, the name Prater is unique.
Beyond Kentucky, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Prater ...
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.
- Carter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Cold Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Cold Springs is located in Carter County
- Counts Crossroads
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Counts Crossroads
- Counts Crossroads is located in Carter County
- Globe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Limestone
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Mountain Top
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Top have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Top
- Mountain Top is located in Carter County
- Reeder
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Rose Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Shady Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Elliott County
- Silica
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Smoky Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smoky Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoky Valley
- Smoky Valley is located in Carter County
- Wolf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Prater 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 Prater to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Prater and extending to:
- Grayson, which is the Seat of Carter County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Prater to Grayson, with an average speed<4> 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 93 miles [149.7 km] to the west (W). 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 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 332 miles [534.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,176 miles [9,939.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,893 miles [11,093.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,769 miles [7,675 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Prater. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Prater) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Prater. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3390, Longitude: -83.1518 In this case, the coordinates for Prater have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Prater 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> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Prater to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.59 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.573 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.527 degrees. |