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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 Banner Elk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Banner Elk 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 Banner Elk:
- 36.163321, -81.871804
- 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 Banner Elk
- 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 Banner Elk 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 Banner Elk
Curious and Interesting Names Near Banner Elk ...
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 located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battleground
- Cranberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cranberry is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
- Cranberry Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cranberry Gap is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Gap
- Dark Ridge ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dark Ridge is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Ridge
- Elk Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Elk Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Elk Valley is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Valley
- Grandfather
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Heaton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Heaton is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton
- Hemlock Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hemlock Ridge is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ridge
- Montezuma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Devils
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sugar Mountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Valley Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Valley Creek is located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek
How Far From Banner Elk 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 town such as Banner Elk to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Banner Elk and extending to:
- Newland, which is the Seat of Avery County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 182 miles [292.9 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Banner Elk to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>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 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 325 miles [523 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<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 6,928 miles [11,149.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,805 miles [7,732.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Banner Elk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Banner Elk 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 Banner Elk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1633, Longitude: -81.8718 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.824 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.38 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.637 degrees. |
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