Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downsville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downsville and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downsville
- 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 Downsville:
- 35.881242, -81.361200
- 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 Downsville
- 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 Caldwell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
- Since Downsville is near Alexander County and also Catawba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alexander 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 Downsville ...
We found five communities that share the name Downsville.
Within North Carolina, the name Downsville is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Union Parish
- This Downsville is located in Union Parish and lies 669 miles [1,076.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Downsville that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union Parish community of Downsville.
- Maryland
- Washington County
- This Downsville is located in Washington County and lies 319 miles [513.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Downsville that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Downsville.
- New York
- Delaware County
- This Downsville is located in Delaware County and lies 547 miles [880.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Downsville that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delaware County community of Downsville.
- Texas
- McLennan County
- This Downsville is located in McLennan County and lies 951 miles [1,530.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Downsville that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLennan County community of Downsville.
- Wisconsin
- Dunn County
- This Downsville is located in Dunn County and lies 827 miles [1,330.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Downsville that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dunn County community of Downsville.
- Louisiana
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downsville ...
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.
- Cedar Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
- Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Cedar Rock has also been known as:
- Cedar Rock village
- Cedar Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Cedar Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Ellendale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Grace Chapel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace Chapel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Chapel
- Grace Chapel is located in Caldwell County
- Granite Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granite Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Falls
- Granite Falls is located in Caldwell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,657 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Granite Falls <3>
- Kings Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Laurel Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hollow
- Laurel Hollow is located in Caldwell County
- Little River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Little River is located in Alexander County
- Maple Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Valley
- Maple Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Sawmills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Downsville to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Downsville to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<4> community of Downsville once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Downsville and extending to:
- Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Downsville to Lenoir, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 152 miles [244.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 315 miles [506.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,213 miles [9,998.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,916 miles [11,130.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,794 miles [7,715.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Caldwell County: www.co.caldwell.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Downsville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.8812, Longitude: -81.3612 In this case, the coordinates for Downsville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Downsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Downsville to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.524 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.994 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.515 degrees. |