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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Flat Top, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Flat Top 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 Flat Top:
    • 35.568450, -82.381508
    • 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 Flat Top
  • 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 Flat Top is near Henderson County and also McDowell 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 McDowell 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 Flat Top

Communities Also Named Flat Top ...

We found nine communities that are also named Flat Top.

Within North Carolina, the name Flat Top is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Bibb County
      • This Flat Top is located in Bibb County and lies 317 miles [510.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Flat Top.
      • Jefferson County
      • This Flat Top is located in Jefferson County and lies 294 miles [473.1 km] to the west southwest of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Flat Top.
    • Colorado
      • Washington County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Washington County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Flat Top.
    • Mississippi
      • Hancock County
      • This Flat Top is located in Hancock County and lies 545 miles [877.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Flat Top.
    • Tennessee
      • Hamilton County
      • This Flat Top is located in Hamilton County and lies 159 miles [255.9 km]<1> to the west of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Flat Top.
    • Texas
      • Stonewall County
      • This Flat Top is located in Stonewall County and lies 1,024 miles [1,648 km]<1> to the west of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stonewall County community of Flat Top.
    • Virginia
      • Dickenson County
      • This Flat Top is located in Dickenson County and lies 100 miles [160.9 km]<1> to the north of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dickenson County community of Flat Top.
      • Tazewell County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Flat Top [Tazewell County].
    • West Virginia
      • Mercer County
      • This Flat Top is located in Mercer County and lies 156 miles [251.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Flat Top that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mercer County community of Flat Top.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Flat Top ...

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.

  • Bearwallow
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
  • Chestnut Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • Dogwood Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Dogwood Grove is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Grove
  • Gashes Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Gashes Creek is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gashes Creek
  • Grovestone
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Grovestone is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovestone
  • Happy Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Happy Valley is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
  • Haw Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Haw Creek is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haw Creek
  • Mountainbrook
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Mountainbrook is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainbrook
  • Rattlesnake Lodge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rattlesnake Lodge is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattlesnake Lodge
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Riceville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Riceville is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
    • Rolling Green
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Rolling Green is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
    • Spring Time
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Spring Time is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Time
    • Summerhaven
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Summerhaven is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerhaven
    • Valley Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Valley Springs is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Springs
    • Walkertown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown

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

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

  • Asheville, which is the Seat of Buncombe County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Flat Top to Asheville, with an average speed<4> 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 210 miles [338 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 372 miles [598.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take 6 hours, 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 6,270 miles [10,090.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,975 miles [11,225.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,852 miles [7,808.5 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 from Point A (ie- Flat Top) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Flat Top, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Flat Top 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.
<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 Flat Top 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 Flat Top. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5684, Longitude: -82.3815       In this case, the coordinates for Flat Top have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.121 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.634 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.015 degrees.