RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kentucky >> Boyd County >> Riggs Tract >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Riggs Tract, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Riggs Tract 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 Riggs Tract:
    • 38.402692, -82.600572
    • 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 Riggs Tract
  • 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 Boyd County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Boyd County
    • Since Riggs Tract is near Wayne County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Riggs Tract

Curious and Interesting Names Near Riggs Tract ...

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.

  • Big Sandy Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Big Sandy Junction is located in Boyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy Junction
  • Buffalo Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Buffalo Creek is located in Wayne County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Creek
  • Cannonsburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Cannonsburg is located in Boyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannonsburg
  • Clearview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Clearview is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearview
  • Geigers Crossing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Geigers Crossing is located in Boyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geigers Crossing
  • Glenroy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Glenroy is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenroy
  • Lincoln Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lincoln Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
  • Lockdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Lockdale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockdale
  • Meadow Haven
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadow Haven is located in Wayne County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Haven
  • Meads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Meads is located in Boyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meads
  • Neal
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Neal is located in Wayne County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
  • Normal
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Normal is located in Boyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normal
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Savage Branch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Savage Branch is located in Boyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Branch
    • Spring Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Spring Valley is located in Wayne County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Sulphur Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sulphur Springs is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
    • Sweet Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweet Run is located in Wayne County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Run
    • Walnut Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Walnut Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Park
    • Willowvale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Willowvale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowvale

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Riggs Tract and extending to:

  • Catlettsburg, which is the Seat of Boyd County, lies just to the North.
  • Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Riggs Tract to Frankfort, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 301 miles [484.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,150 miles [9,897.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,867 miles [11,051.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,742 miles [7,631.5 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Riggs Tract) 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 Riggs Tract 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 Riggs Tract. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4027, Longitude: -82.6006       In this case, the coordinates for Riggs Tract have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.251 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.195 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.267 degrees.