Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Icard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Icard and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Icard
- 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 Icard:
- 35.727354, -81.470646
- 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 Icard
- 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 Burke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Burke County
- Since Icard is near Catawba County and also Caldwell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Catawba County
- eBird sighting report for Caldwell 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 Icard ...
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.
- Advent Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Advent Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advent Crossroads
- Advent Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Drowning Creek ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drowning Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drowning Creek
- Drowning Creek is located in Burke County
- Flat Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Granite Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granite Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Falls
- Granite Falls is located in Caldwell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,657 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Granite Falls <2>
- Henry River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henry River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry River
- Henry River is located in Burke County
- Hickory
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Hickory is located in Catawba County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,473 people
- Long View
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Lovelady ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Mountain View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Catawba County
- Penelope
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Sawmills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
How Far From Icard to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Icard to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Icard and extending to:
- Morganton, which is the Seat of Burke County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Icard to Morganton, with an average speed<4> 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 158 miles [254.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 327 miles [526.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,224 miles [10,016.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,927 miles [11,147.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,805 miles [7,732.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Icard. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Burke County: www.co.burke.nc.us/
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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Icard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Icard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7274, Longitude: -81.4706 In this case, the coordinates for Icard 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 Icard 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 310.588 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.045 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.604 degrees. |