RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
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The Commemorative Quarter for North Carolina





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Fort Defiance, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fort Defiance 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 Fort Defiance:
    • 36.017075, -81.495096
    • 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 Fort Defiance
  • 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 Fort Defiance ...

We found three communities that share the name Fort Defiance.

Within North Carolina, the name Fort Defiance is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Apache County
      • This Fort Defiance is located in Apache County and lies 1,537 miles [2,473.6 km]<1> to the west of the Fort Defiance that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Apache County community of Fort Defiance.
    • South Dakota
      • Fort Defiance #
      • This community is historichttp://www.waymarking.com/wm/search.aspx?f=1&lat=36.017075&lon=-81.495096&t=6 and we have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for Fort Defiance.
    • Virginia
      • Augusta County
      • This Fort Defiance is located in Augusta County and lies 207 miles [333.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Fort Defiance that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Augusta County community of Fort Defiance.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Fort Defiance ...

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.

  • Buffalo Cove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Cove
    • Buffalo Cove is located in Caldwell County
  • Cedar Rock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Denny ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denny have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denny
    • Denny is located in Wilkes County
  • Elkville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkville
    • Elkville is located in Wilkes County
  • Happy Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
    • Happy Valley is located in Caldwell County
  • Heritage Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
    • Heritage Hills is located in Caldwell County
  • Indian Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
    • Indian Hills is located in Caldwell County
  • Jones ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
    • Jones is located in Caldwell County
  • Kings Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
    • Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
  • Tranquil Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tranquil Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tranquil Hill
    • Tranquil Hill is located in Caldwell County
  • Warrior
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrior have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior
    • Warrior is located in Caldwell County

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

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

  • Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies just to the South Southwest.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 160 miles [257.5 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Fort Defiance to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,212 miles [9,997.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,917 miles [11,131.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,794 miles [7,715.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fort Defiance. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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- Fort Defiance) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Defiance. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0171, Longitude: -81.4951       In this case, the coordinates for Fort Defiance 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 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.
<4>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 Fort Defiance to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.602 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.104 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.528 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025