Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Altapass, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Altapass and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Altapass
- 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 Altapass:
- 35.893458, -82.017892
- 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 Altapass
- 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 Mitchell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mitchell County
- Since Altapass is near McDowell County and also Avery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McDowell County
- eBird sighting report for Avery 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 Altapass ...
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.
- Grassy Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grassy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
- Grassy Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jonas Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonas Ridge
- Jonas Ridge is located in Burke County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonas Ridge <2>
- Ledger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Little Switzerland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Switzerland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Switzerland
- Little Switzerland is located in McDowell County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Switzerland <2>
- Normanville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Normanville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normanville
- Normanville is located in Mitchell County
- Spear
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Spruce Pine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Pine
- Spruce Pine is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,126 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spruce Pine <2>
- Strawberry Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Ridge
- Strawberry Ridge is located in Mitchell County
- Three Mile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Mile
- Three Mile is located in Avery County
- Wing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Wisemans View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wisemans View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisemans View
- Wisemans View is located in Burke County
- Woodlawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
How Far From Altapass 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 Altapass to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Altapass and extending to:
- Bakersville, which is the Seat of Mitchell County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Altapass to Bakersville, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 189 miles [304.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 342 miles [550.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,240 miles [10,042.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,945 miles [11,176.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,822 miles [7,760.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Altapass. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mitchell County: www.mitchellcounty.org/
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Altapass) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Altapass. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.8935, Longitude: -82.0179 In this case, the coordinates for Altapass have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Altapass to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.91 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.438 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.775 degrees. |