RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Tensas Parish >> Cross Keys >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Cross Keys, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cross Keys 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 Cross Keys:
    • 31.884049, -91.357893
    • 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 Cross Keys
  • 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 Tensas Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tensas Parish
    • Since Cross Keys is near Jefferson County and also Concordia Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Concordia 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 Cross Keys

Communities Also Named Cross Keys ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Cross Keys.

Within Louisiana, the name Cross Keys is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Macon County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Macon County and lies 321 miles [516.6 km]<1> to the east of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Cross Keys.
    • Delaware
      • Sussex County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Sussex County and lies 1,011 miles [1,627 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Cross Keys.
    • Georgia
      • Bibb County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Bibb County and lies 457 miles [735.5 km]<1> to the east of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Cross Keys.
      • DeKalb 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 Georgia community of Cross Keys [DeKalb County].
    • Missouri
      • Saint Louis County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Saint Louis County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<1> to the north of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Cross Keys.
    • New Jersey
      • Gloucester County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Gloucester County and lies 1,059 miles [1,704.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gloucester County community of Cross Keys.
    • Ohio
      • Monroe County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Cross Keys [Monroe County].
    • Oregon
      • Crook 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 Oregon community of Cross Keys [Crook County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Adams County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Adams County and lies 971 miles [1,562.7 km]<1> to the northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Cross Keys.
      • Blair County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Blair County and lies 930 miles [1,496.7 km] to the northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Blair County community of Cross Keys.
      • Bucks County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Bucks County and lies 1,074 miles [1,728.4 km] to the northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bucks County community of Cross Keys.
      • Juniata County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Juniata County and lies 958 miles [1,541.8 km] to the northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Juniata County community of Cross Keys.
    • South Carolina
      • Union County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Union County and lies 584 miles [939.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Cross Keys.
    • Tennessee
      • Williamson 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 Tennessee community of Cross Keys [Williamson County].
    • Virginia
      • Rockingham County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Rockingham County and lies 835 miles [1,343.8 km]<1> to the northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockingham County community of Cross Keys.
      • Southampton County
      • This Cross Keys is located in Southampton County and lies 871 miles [1,401.7 km] to the east northeast of the Cross Keys that is located in Tensas Parish.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Southampton County community of Cross Keys.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Cross Keys ...

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.

  • Crimea
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Crimea is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crimea
  • Dixie ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dixie is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
  • Goldman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Goldman is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldman
  • Goldman Landing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Goldman Landing is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldman Landing
  • Hedgeland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Hedgeland is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgeland
  • Helena
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Helena is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
  • Holly Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Holly Ridge is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge
  • Locust Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Locust Ridge is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Ridge
  • Maryland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Maryland is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
  • Mayflower
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayflower is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayflower
  • Shady Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shady Grove is located in Tensas Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Waterproof
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Saint Joseph, which is the Seat of Tensas Parish, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 99 miles [159.3 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Cross Keys to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 938 miles [1,509.6 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,818 miles [10,972.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,534 miles [12,124.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,410 miles [8,706.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cross Keys) 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 Cross Keys 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.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Cross Keys, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Cross Keys 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 Cross Keys. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8840, Longitude: -91.3579       In this case, the coordinates for Cross Keys have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.325 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.139 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.442 degrees.