RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Island 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 Island:
    • 31.337127, -92.165407
    • 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 Big Island
  • 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 Big Island ...

We found six communities that share the name Big Island.

Within Louisiana, the name Big Island is unique.

Beyond Louisiana, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, four are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Minnesota
      • Hennepin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Big Island [Hennepin County].
    • New York
      • Orange County
      • This Big Island is located in Orange County and lies 1,200 miles [1,931.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Big Island that is located in Rapides Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Big Island.
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Big Island lies 2,361 miles [3,799.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Big Island that is located in Rapides Parish.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Big Island lies 1,870 miles [3,009.5 km]<2> to the northeast of the Big Island that is located in Rapides Parish.
    • Ohio
      • Marion County
      • This Big Island is located in Marion County and lies 811 miles [1,305.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Big Island that is located in Rapides Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Big Island.
    • Virginia
      • Bedford County
      • This Big Island is located in Bedford County and lies 844 miles [1,358.3 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Big Island that is located in Rapides Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bedford County community of Big Island.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Island ...

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.

  • Bob
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bob have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bob
    • Bob is located in Grant Parish
  • Buckeye
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckeye have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
    • Buckeye is located in Rapides Parish
  • Cassandra
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassandra have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassandra
    • Cassandra is located in Avoyelles Parish
  • Cedar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Cedar Grove is located in Rapides Parish
  • Center Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Center Point is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center Point <4>
  • David Ferry
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for David Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for David Ferry
    • David Ferry is located in Avoyelles Parish
  • Effie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Green Gables
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Gables have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Gables
    • Green Gables is located in Rapides Parish
  • Magnolia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Magnolia is located in La Salle Parish
  • Ruby
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Ruby is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruby <4>
  • Shady Oaks
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Oaks
    • Shady Oaks is located in Rapides Parish

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

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

  • Alexandria, which is the Seat of Rapides Parish, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Big Island to Alexandria, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 85 miles [136.8 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 999 miles [1,607.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,878 miles [11,069.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,595 miles [12,223 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,470 miles [8,803.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Rapides Parish: www.rppj.com/

The official website for State of Louisiana: https://www.louisiana.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Big Island 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 parish. 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.
<2>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 from Point A (ie- Big Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.3371, Longitude: -92.1654       In this case, the coordinates for Big Island have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.768 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.584 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.853 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 23 Mar 2025