Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Balsam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Balsam and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Balsam
- 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 Balsam:
- 35.426716, -83.085376
- 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 Balsam
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Balsam is near Haywood County and also Swain County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Haywood County
- eBird sighting report for Swain 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 Balsam ...
We found four communities that share the name Balsam.
Within North Carolina, the name Balsam is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Ontario
- This Balsam lies 628 miles [1,010.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Balsam that is located in Jackson County.
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Balsam ...
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.
- Clark
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Fisher Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Creek
- Fisher Creek is located in Jackson County
- Ivy Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Love Field
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Love Field have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Love Field
- Love Field is located in Jackson County
- Maggie Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maggie Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maggie Valley
- Maggie Valley is located in Haywood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maggie Valley <3>
- Rich Mountain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rich Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Mountain
- Rich Mountain is located in Jackson County
- Ruby City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Sunburst
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
How Far From Balsam 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 Balsam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Balsam and extending to:
- Sylva, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 250 miles [402.3 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Balsam to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 410 miles [659.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,306 miles [10,148.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,012 miles [11,284.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,889 miles [7,868.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Balsam. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jackson County: www.jacksonnc.org/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Balsam) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Balsam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.4267, Longitude: -83.0854 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Balsam 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 311.535 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.089 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.338 degrees. |