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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gregory Forks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gregory Forks 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 Gregory Forks:
    • 34.881830, -77.577191
    • 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 Gregory Forks
  • 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 Onslow County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Onslow County
    • Since Gregory Forks is near Duplin County and also Jones County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Duplin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jones 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 Gregory Forks

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gregory Forks ...

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.

  • Catherine Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Catherine Lake is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine Lake
  • Cedar Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Creek is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
  • Cedar Fork
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Fork is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Fork
  • Fountain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fountain is located in Duplin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
  • Francktown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Francktown is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francktown
  • Greystone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Greystone is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone
  • Gum Branch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Gum Branch is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Branch
  • Half Moon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Half Moon is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
  • Haw Branch
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Haw Branch is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haw Branch
  • Jarmantown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jarmantown is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarmantown
  • Raintree
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Raintree is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree
  • Shamrock Village
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Shamrock Village is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Village
  • Tar Landing
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Tar Landing is located in Onslow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar Landing

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Gregory Forks and extending to:

  • Jacksonville, which is the Seat of Onslow County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Gregory Forks to Jacksonville, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 86 miles [138.4 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 278 miles [447.4 km] to the north (N). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,092 miles [9,804.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,780 miles [10,911.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,665 miles [7,507.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gregory Forks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Gregory Forks 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 Gregory Forks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8818, Longitude: -77.5772       In this case, the coordinates for Gregory Forks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.374 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.386 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.368 degrees.