RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Barnstable County >> Rock Harbor >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rock Harbor, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock Harbor 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 Rock Harbor:
    • 41.797331, -70.003629
    • 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 Rock Harbor
  • 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 Barnstable County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Barnstable County
    • Since Rock Harbor is near Plymouth County and also Nantucket County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Plymouth County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nantucket 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 Rock Harbor

Communities Also Named Rock Harbor ...

We found two communities that are also named Rock Harbor.

Within Massachusetts, the name Rock Harbor is unique.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Monroe County
      • This Rock Harbor is located in Monroe County and lies 1,299 miles [2,090.5 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rock Harbor that is located in Barnstable County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Rock Harbor.
    • Texas
      • Hood County
      • Although located in Hood County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hood County community of Rock Harbor.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock Harbor ...

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.

  • Campground Landing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Campground Landing is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campground Landing
  • Dennis
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Dennis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people
  • Dennis Port
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
  • First Encounter Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • First Encounter Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Encounter Beach
  • Fresh Brook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Fresh Brook is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Brook
  • Mayo Beach
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Mayo Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo Beach
  • Orleans
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Orleans is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,802 people
  • Pleasant Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Lake is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
  • Sunken Meadow Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Sunken Meadow Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunken Meadow Beach

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

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

  • Barnstable, which is the Seat of Barnstable County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rock Harbor to Barnstable, with an average speed<2> 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.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 66 miles [106.2 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 420 miles [675.9 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,480 miles [8,819.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,182 miles [9,949 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,060 miles [6,533.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Rock Harbor) 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 Rock Harbor 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 Rock Harbor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7973, Longitude: -70.0036       In this case, the coordinates for Rock Harbor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 303.434 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.867 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.393 degrees.