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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Loray, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Loray 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 Loray:
    • 35.816801, -80.968132
    • 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 Loray
  • 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 Iredell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Iredell County
    • Since Loray is near Alexander County and also Catawba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alexander County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Catawba 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 Loray

Communities Also Named Loray ...

We found one communities that are also named Loray.

Within North Carolina, the name Loray is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, there is another community also named Loray in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Nevada
      • Elko County
      • This Loray is located in Elko County and lies 1,828 miles [2,941.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Loray that is located in Iredell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elko County community of Loray.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Loray ...

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
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Buffalo is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Cloverdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverdale is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Glenn Echo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenn Echo is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Echo
  • Green Acres
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Green Acres is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Hickory Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Hickory Hills is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
  • Kingswood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Kingswood is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingswood
  • Kyles Crossroads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Kyles Crossroads is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyles Crossroads
  • Liberty Hill ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Liberty Hill is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Meadow View
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Meadow View is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow View
  • Ourdell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ourdell is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ourdell
  • Snow Creek ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Snow Creek is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Creek
  • Stony Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stony Point is located in Alexander County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
  • Valley Stream
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Valley Stream is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Stream
  • Wildwood Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Wildwood Park is located in Iredell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Park

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

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

  • Statesville, which is the Seat of Iredell County, lies just to the East Southeast.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 130 miles [209.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Loray to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 302 miles [486 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,199 miles [9,976.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,901 miles [11,106.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,779 miles [7,691.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Loray) 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 Loray 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 Loray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.8168, Longitude: -80.9681       In this case, the coordinates for Loray have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.294 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.721 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.377 degrees.