RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Saint Tammany Parish >> Big Branch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Branch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big 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 Big Branch:
    • 30.333807, -89.992851
    • 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 Big 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Saint Tammany Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Tammany Parish
    • Since Big Branch is near Orleans Parish and also Tangipahoa Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Orleans Parish
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tangipahoa Parish
  • 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 Big Branch

Communities Also Named Big Branch ...

We found five communities that are also named Big Branch.

Within Louisiana, the name Big Branch is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Knott County
      • This Big Branch is located in Knott County and lies 626 miles [1,007.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Big Branch that is located in Saint Tammany Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of Big Branch.
      • Letcher County
      • This Big Branch is located in Letcher County and lies 615 miles [989.7 km] to the northeast of the Big Branch that is located in Saint Tammany Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Letcher County community of Big Branch.
      • Magoffin County
      • Although located in Magoffin County, we don't know the location within the parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Magoffin County community of Big Branch.
      • Pike County
      • This Big Branch is located in Pike County and lies 645 miles [1,038 km] to the northeast of the Big Branch that is located in Saint Tammany Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Big Branch.
    • West Virginia
      • Wyoming County
      • This Big Branch is located in Wyoming County and lies 686 miles [1,104 km]<1> to the northeast of the Big Branch that is located in Saint Tammany Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming County community of Big Branch.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Big 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.

  • Amos
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Amos is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amos
  • Cadillac Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cadillac Park is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadillac Park
  • Carolyn Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Carolyn Park is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolyn Park
  • Colt
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Colt is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colt
  • Forest Glen ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Forest Glen is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Glen
  • Forest Pines
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Forest Pines is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Pines
  • Fountain Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Fountain Park is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Park
  • Lewisburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lewisburg is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
  • Liberty Pines
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberty Pines is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pines
  • Maude
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Maude is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maude
  • Ozone Woods
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Ozone Woods is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozone Woods
  • Palm Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Palm Lake is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Lake
  • Piney Ridge Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Piney Ridge Park is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Ridge Park
  • Timber Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Timber Ridge is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge

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

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

  • Covington, which is the Seat of Saint Tammany Parish, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Big Branch to Covington, with an average speed<2> 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.
  • Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 69 miles [111 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 about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 942 miles [1,516 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,839 miles [11,006.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,545 miles [12,142.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,422 miles [8,725.9 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 from Point A (ie- Big 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 Big 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 Big Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.3338, Longitude: -89.9929       In this case, the coordinates for Big Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.319 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.76 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.132 degrees.