RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Watauga County >> Echo Park >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Echo Park, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Echo Park 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 Echo Park:
    • 36.130962, -81.668439
    • 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 Echo Park
  • 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 Watauga County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
    • Since Echo Park is near Caldwell County and also Avery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Avery 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 Echo Park

Communities Also Named Echo Park ...

We found one communities that are also named Echo Park.

Within North Carolina, the name Echo Park is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, there is another community also named Echo Park in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Los Angeles County
      • This Echo Park is located in Los Angeles County and lies 2,059 miles [3,313.6 km]<1> to the west of the Echo Park that is located in Watauga County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Echo Park.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Echo Park ...

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.

  • Apple Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
  • Bamboo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bamboo is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
  • Cherokee Woods
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Cherokee Woods is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Woods
  • Falcon Crest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Falcon Crest is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Crest
  • Globe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Globe is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
  • Green Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Green Hill is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
  • Hemlock Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Hemlock Ridge is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ridge
  • Hillcrest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hillcrest is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Hounds Ear
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hounds Ear is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hounds Ear
  • Laurel Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Laurel Park is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
  • Mulberry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Oak Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Poplar Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Ski Mountain
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Ski Mountain is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ski Mountain

How Far From Echo Park 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 Echo Park to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Boone, which is the Seat of Watauga County, lies just to the North.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 170 miles [273.6 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Echo Park to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 317 miles [510.2 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,215 miles [10,002.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,920 miles [11,136.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,797 miles [7,720 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Echo Park) 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 Echo Park 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 Echo Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1310, Longitude: -81.6684       In this case, the coordinates for Echo Park have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.704 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.237 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.564 degrees.