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Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Fontana Dam.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fontana Dam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fontana Dam 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 Fontana Dam:
- 35.434021, -83.824993<1>
- 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 Fontana Dam
- 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 Graham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Graham County
- Since Fontana Dam is near Swain County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Swain County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Fontana Dam
Curious and Interesting Names Near Fontana Dam ...
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.
- Chilhowee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chilhowee is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- Chilhowey ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chilhowey was located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowey
- Happy Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hidetown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hidetown is also located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidetown
- Jenkins Meadow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jenkins Meadow is also located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins Meadow
- Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Junction is also located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Milltown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Milltown is also located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Rattler Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rattler Ford is also located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattler Ford
- Red Bank
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Red Bank is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Robbinsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sweetgum
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sweetgum is also located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetgum
- Talc Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Talc Mountain is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talc Mountain
- Yellow Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
How Far From Fontana Dam 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 included the distance from a town such as Fontana Dam to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Fontana Dam and extending to:
- Robbinsville, which is the Seat of Graham County, lies just to the South.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 291 miles [468.3 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Fontana Dam to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 17 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 443 miles [712.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,337 miles [10,198.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,045 miles [11,337.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,922 miles [7,921.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Fontana Dam:
Decimal: 35.43402, -83.824993
DDMMSS: 35° 26' 2", -83° 49' 29" |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Fontana Dam) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Fontana Dam 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 Fontana Dam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.4340, Longitude: -83.8250 |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.975 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.595 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.636 degrees. |
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