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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Balm, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Balm and the surrounding area.
- 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 Balm:
- 36.169849, -81.852335<1>
- 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 Balm
- 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 Avery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Avery County
- Since Balm is near Watauga County and also Caldwell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell 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 Balm
Communities Also Named Balm ...
We found five communities that are also named Balm.
Within North Carolina, the name Balm is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of five communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Balm, Blount 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 Alabama community of Balm [Blount County].
- Florida
- Balm, Hillsborough County
- This Balm is located in Hillsborough County and lies 581 miles [935 km]<3> to the south of the Balm that is located in Avery County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Balm.
- Missouri
- Balm, Cedar 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 Missouri community of Balm [Cedar County].
- Pennsylvania
- Balm, Mercer 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 Pennsylvania community of Balm [Mercer County].
- Texas
- Balm, Cooke County
- This Balm is located in Cooke County and lies 871 miles [1,401.7 km]<3> to the west of the Balm that is located in Avery County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cooke County community of Balm.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Balm ...
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.
- Battleground
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Battleground is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battleground
- Cherokee Woods
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cherokee Woods is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Woods
- Cranberry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cranberry is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
- Dark Ridge ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dark Ridge is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Ridge
- Elk Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Elk Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Elk Valley is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Valley
- Farmer Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Farmer Mill is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer Mill
- Flat Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Springs is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Springs
- Grandfather
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Grandfather is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Heaton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Heaton is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton
- Hemlock Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hemlock Ridge is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ridge
- Hounds Ear
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hounds Ear is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hounds Ear
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Montezuma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Montezuma is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Devils
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Mountain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sugar Mountain is also located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Valley Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Creek is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek
How Far From Balm 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 included the distance from a community such as Balm to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Balm and extending to:
- Newland, which is the Seat of Avery County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 181 miles [291.3 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Balm to Raleigh, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 323 miles [519.8 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,221 miles [10,011.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,926 miles [11,146.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,803 miles [7,729.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Balm: Decimal: 36.16984, -81.852335 DDMMSS: 36° 10' 11", -81° 51' 8" |
| <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 Balm 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> | 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- Balm) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Balm 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 Balm. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1698, Longitude: -81.8523 In this case, the coordinates for Balm have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.813 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.367 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.627 degrees. |
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