Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Altan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Altan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Altan
- 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 Altan:
- 34.881187, -80.541690
- 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 Altan
- 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Union County
- Since Altan is near Chesterfield County and also Lancaster County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Chesterfield County
- eBird sighting report for Lancaster 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Altan ...
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.
- Bramblewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bramblewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramblewood
- Bramblewood is located in Union County
- Council Oaks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Oaks
- Council Oaks is located in Union County
- Doctor Sapps Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doctor Sapps Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctor Sapps Crossroads
- Doctor Sapps Crossroads is located in Lancaster County (SC)
- Hillcrest
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Kingswood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Lee Wood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Rock Rest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Rest
- Rock Rest is located in Union County
- Roughedge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Timber Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Lake
- Timber Lake is located in Union County
- Tradesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tradesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradesville
- Tradesville is located in Lancaster County (SC)
- Trinity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Walkersville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walkersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkersville
- Walkersville is located in Union County
- Wolf Pond Cross Roads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Pond Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Pond Cross Roads
- Wolf Pond Cross Roads is located in Chesterfield County (SC)
How Far From Altan 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 Altan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Altan and extending to:
- Monroe, which is the Seat of Union County, lies just to the North.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Altan to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>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 338 miles [544 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,222 miles [10,013.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,919 miles [11,135.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,799 miles [7,723.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Altan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Union County: www.co.union.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Altan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Altan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8812, Longitude: -80.5417 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Altan to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.048 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.303 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.489 degrees. |