Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gneiss, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gneiss and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gneiss
- 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 Gneiss:
- 35.133428, -83.281262
- 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 Gneiss
- 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 Macon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Macon County
- Since Gneiss is near Jackson County and also Rabun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- eBird sighting report for Rabun 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gneiss ...
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.
- Blossomtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blossomtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossomtown
- Blossomtown is located in Macon County
- Dean
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Franklin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
- Lickskillet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lickskillet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Lickskillet is located in Macon County
- Mountain Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Mountain Grove is located in Macon County
- Otto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Otto is located in Macon County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otto <2>
- Pumpkintown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pumpkintown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkintown
- Pumpkintown is located in Jackson County
- Scaly Mountain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scaly Mountain
- Scaly Mountain is located in Macon County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scaly Mountain <2>
- Shookville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shookville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shookville
- Shookville is located in Macon County
- Tumblerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tumblerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tumblerville
- Tumblerville is located in Macon County
- Union
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Gneiss 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 Gneiss to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Gneiss and extending to:
- Franklin, which is the Seat of Macon County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Gneiss 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 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 431 miles [693.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,328 miles [10,183.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,033 miles [11,318.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,911 miles [7,903.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gneiss. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Macon County: www.maconnc.org/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <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 'straight-line' (or 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- Gneiss) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gneiss. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.1334, Longitude: -83.2813 In this case, the coordinates for Gneiss have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Gneiss to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.645 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.174 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.496 degrees. |