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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ratliff, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ratliff 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 Ratliff:
    • 37.341495, -82.426538
    • 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 Ratliff
  • 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 Ratliff is near Dickenson County and also Letcher County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dickenson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Letcher 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 Ratliff

Communities Also Named Ratliff ...

We found six communities that are also named Ratliff.

There is one other community in Kentucky that is also named Ratliff.

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

  • Communities Located In Kentucky ...
    • Menifee County
      • This Ratliff is located in Menifee County and lies 77 miles [123.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ratliff that is located in Pike County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Menifee County community of Ratliff.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Nassau County
      • This Ratliff is located in Nassau County and lies 473 miles [761.2 km]<1> to the south of the Ratliff that is located in Pike County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nassau County community of Ratliff.
    • Louisiana
      • Assumption Parish
      • This Ratliff is located in Assumption Parish and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Ratliff that is located in Pike County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Assumption Parish community of Ratliff.
    • Mississippi
      • Itawamba County
      • This Ratliff is located in Itawamba County and lies 397 miles [638.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ratliff that is located in Pike County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Itawamba County community of Ratliff.
      • Rankin County
      • This Ratliff is located in Rankin County and lies 531 miles [854.6 km] to the southwest of the Ratliff that is located in Pike County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rankin County community of Ratliff.
    • Virginia
      • Tazewell 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 Virginia community of Ratliff [Tazewell County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ratliff ...

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.

  • Beaver Bottom
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Beaver Bottom is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Bottom
  • Beaver Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Beaver Creek is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
  • Cedarville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedarville is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
  • Daniels Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Daniels Creek is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels Creek
  • Dry Fork
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Dry Fork is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Fork
  • Edgewater
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewater is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
  • Federal
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Federal is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal
  • Greasy Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Greasy Creek is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greasy Creek
  • Henry Clay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Henry Clay is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry Clay
  • Honey Fork
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Honey Fork is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Fork
  • Kettlecamp
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kettlecamp is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettlecamp
  • Lookout
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lookout is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Lower Greasy Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Lower Greasy Creek is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Greasy Creek
    • Marrowbone
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Marrowbone is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
    • Republic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Republic is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
    • Road Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Road Junction is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Road Junction
    • Rockhouse
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Rockhouse is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
    • Wolfpit
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Wolfpit is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfpit

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

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

  • Pikeville, which is the Seat of Pike County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ratliff to Pikeville, with an average speed<3> 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 146 miles [235 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 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 311 miles [500.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,192 miles [9,965.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,904 miles [11,110.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,779 miles [7,691.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Ratliff) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Ratliff 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>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.
<4>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 Ratliff 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 Ratliff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3415, Longitude: -82.4265       In this case, the coordinates for Ratliff have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.154 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.928 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.516 degrees.