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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Emma, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Emma 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 Emma:
    • 35.597597, -82.591306
    • 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 Emma
  • 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 Buncombe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Buncombe County
    • Since Emma is near Henderson County and also Haywood County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henderson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Haywood 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 Emma

Communities Also Named Emma ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Emma.

Within North Carolina, the name Emma is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Pitkin County
      • This Emma is located in Pitkin County and lies 1,361 miles [2,190.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitkin County community of Emma.
    • Georgia
      • Dawson County
      • This Emma is located in Dawson County and lies 119 miles [191.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dawson County community of Emma.
    • Illinois
      • White County
      • This Emma is located in White County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Emma.
    • Indiana
      • LaGrange County
      • This Emma is located in LaGrange County and lies 444 miles [714.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaGrange County community of Emma.
    • Kansas
      • Harvey County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Emma [Harvey County].
      • Rawlins County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Emma [Rawlins County].
    • Kentucky
      • Floyd County
      • This Emma is located in Floyd County and lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<1> to the north of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Floyd County community of Emma.
      • Magoffin County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Emma [Magoffin County].
    • Louisiana
      • Iberia Parish
      • This Emma is located in Iberia Parish and lies 665 miles [1,070.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iberia Parish community of Emma.
    • Missouri
      • Lafayette County
      • This Emma is located in Lafayette County and lies 642 miles [1,033.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Emma.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Westmoreland County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Emma [Westmoreland County].
    • Texas
      • Crosby County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Crosby County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crosby County community of Emma.
    • West Virginia
      • Jackson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Emma [Jackson County].
      • Putnam County
      • This Emma is located in Putnam County and lies 215 miles [346 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Emma that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Emma.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Emma ...

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.

  • Camelot
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Camelot is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot
  • Craggy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Craggy is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craggy
  • Dogwood Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Dogwood Grove is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Grove
  • Echo Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Echo Hills is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
  • Elk Mountain
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Elk Mountain is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mountain
  • Georgetown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Georgetown is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
  • Grace
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Grace is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
  • Happy Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Happy Valley is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
  • Haw Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Haw Creek is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haw Creek
  • Hazel Green
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Hazel Green is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
  • Juno
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Juno is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juno
  • Mountainbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Mountainbrook is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainbrook
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Murphy Junction
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Murphy Junction is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Junction
    • Rolling Green
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Rolling Green is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
    • Sand Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sand Hill is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
    • Spring Time
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Spring Time is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Time
    • Sulphur Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sulphur Springs is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs

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

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

  • Asheville, which is the Seat of Buncombe County, lies just to the East.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 221 miles [355.7 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Emma 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 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 380 miles [611.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,278 miles [10,103.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,983 miles [11,238 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,860 miles [7,821.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Emma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Emma could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<3>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 Emma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Emma 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 Emma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5976, Longitude: -82.5913       In this case, the coordinates for Emma have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.246 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.781 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.091 degrees.