RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Yancey County >> Bent Creek >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Bent Creek, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bent Creek and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Bent Creek:
    • 36.012611, -82.385967
    • 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 Bent Creek
  • 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 Yancey County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Yancey County
    • Since Bent Creek is near Mitchell County and also Unicoi County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mitchell County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Unicoi 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 Bent Creek

Communities Also Named Bent Creek ...

We found three communities that are also named Bent Creek.

There is one other community in North Carolina that is also named Bent Creek.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In North Carolina ...
    • Buncombe County
      • This Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County and lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Bent Creek that is located in Yancey County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buncombe County community of Bent Creek.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Lee County
      • This Bent Creek is located in Lee County and lies 292 miles [469.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Bent Creek that is located in Yancey County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Bent Creek.
    • Virginia
      • Appomattox County
      • This Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County and lies 223 miles [358.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bent Creek that is located in Yancey County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Appomattox County community of Bent Creek.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bent Creek ...

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.

  • Bee Log
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bee Log is located in Yancey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Log
  • Coffee Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Coffee Ridge is located in Unicoi County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Ridge
  • Day Book
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Day Book is located in Yancey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Book
  • Elk Shoal
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Elk Shoal is located in Yancey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Shoal
  • Hawk Branch
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Hawk Branch is located in Yancey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Branch
  • Huntdale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Huntdale is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntdale
  • Lewisburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Lewisburg is located in Yancey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
  • Lost Cove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lost Cove is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Cove
  • Pigeonroost
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pigeonroost is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeonroost
  • Poplar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
  • Relief
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Relief is located in Mitchell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relief

How Far From Bent Creek 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 community such as Bent Creek to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bent Creek and extending to:

  • Burnsville, which is the Seat of Yancey County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 210 miles [338 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Bent Creek to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>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 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 354 miles [569.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,250 miles [10,058.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,957 miles [11,196.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,834 miles [7,779.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Bent Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Bent Creek 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 Bent Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0126, Longitude: -82.3860       In this case, the coordinates for Bent Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.128 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.706 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.89 degrees.