Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Amherst, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Amherst and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Amherst
- 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 Amherst:
- 35.799019, -81.596207
- 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 Amherst
- 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 Burke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Burke County
- Since Amherst is near Caldwell County and also Catawba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
- eBird sighting report for Catawba 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
Communities Also Named Amherst ...
We found 24 communities that share the name Amherst.
Within North Carolina, the name Amherst is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another 24 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 24 communities, 21 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Florida
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Geary 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 Kansas community of Amherst [Geary County].
- Russell County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Amherst [Russell County].
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Erie County
- This Amherst is located in Erie County and lies 517 miles [832 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Amherst.
- Genesee County
- This Amherst is located in Genesee County and lies 517 miles [832 km] to the north northeast of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Genesee County community of Amherst.
- Nova Scotia
- This Amherst lies 1,138 miles [1,831.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Quebec
- This Amherst lies 791 miles [1,273 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Lamar County
- This Amherst is located in Lamar County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<1> to the west of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Amherst.
- Lamb County
- This Amherst is located in Lamb County and lies 1,183 miles [1,903.9 km] to the west of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamb County community of Amherst.
- Virginia
- Amherst County
- This Amherst is located in Amherst County and lies 187 miles [300.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Amherst that is located in Burke County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amherst County community of Amherst.
- Fairfax 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 Virginia community of Amherst [Fairfax County].
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Amherst ...
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.
- Cloverdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Caldwell County
- Copenhagen ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copenhagen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Copenhagen is located in Caldwell County
- Flat Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Gamewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamewell
- Gamewell is located in Caldwell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,993 people
- Gamewell Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gamewell Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamewell Heights
- Gamewell Heights is located in Caldwell County
- Hartland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Lovelady ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Pineburr
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Smokey Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smokey Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smokey Creek
- Smokey Creek is located in Caldwell County
How Far From Amherst 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 Amherst to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Amherst and extending to:
- Morganton, which is the Seat of Burke County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Amherst to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 329 miles [529.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,227 miles [10,021.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,930 miles [11,152.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,808 miles [7,737.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Amherst. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Burke County: www.co.burke.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
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- Amherst) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Amherst. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7990, Longitude: -81.5962 In this case, the coordinates for Amherst have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Amherst 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 county. 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> | 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 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 Amherst 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 310.661 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.14 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.633 degrees. |