Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Miranda, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Miranda and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Miranda
- 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 Miranda:
- 35.594028, -80.653123
- 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 Miranda
- 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 Rowan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rowan County
- Since Miranda is near Cabarrus County and also Iredell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cabarrus County
- eBird sighting report for Iredell 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
Communities Also Named Miranda ...
We found five communities that share the name Miranda.
Within North Carolina, the name Miranda is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Kentucky
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Miranda ...
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.
- Bear Poplar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Poplar have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Poplar
- Bear Poplar is located in Rowan County
- Centerview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
- Centerview is located in Cabarrus County
- China Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Grove
- China Grove is located in Rowan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,249 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for China Grove <5>
- Fisher Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Town
- Fisher Town is located in Cabarrus County
- Five Forks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Rowan County
- Five Points
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Rowan County
- Glass
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Harris Chapel
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Chapel
- Harris Chapel is located in Rowan County
- Harts ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Lock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Orchard Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Orchard Hills is located in Rowan County
- Shady Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
- Shady Brook is located in Cabarrus County
How Far From Miranda 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 Miranda to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Miranda once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Miranda and extending to:
- Salisbury, which is the Seat of Rowan County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Miranda to Salisbury, with an average speed<6> 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 113 miles [181.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,195 miles [9,969.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,895 miles [11,096.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,774 miles [7,683 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rowan County: www.co.rowan.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Miranda) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Miranda. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5940, Longitude: -80.6531 In this case, the coordinates for Miranda have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Miranda could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Miranda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Miranda to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.111 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.48 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.319 degrees. |