Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Morganton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Morganton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Morganton
- 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 Morganton:
- 35.740552, -81.700473
- 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 Morganton
- 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 Morganton is near Caldwell County and also McDowell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
- eBird sighting report for McDowell 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 Morganton ...
We found three communities that share the name Morganton.
Within North Carolina, the name Morganton is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Morganton ...
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.
- Chambers ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Enola
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Gold
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Hickory Grove ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Burke County
- Magnolia
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Parkhill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
- Parkhill is located in Burke County
- Pumpkin Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pumpkin Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
- Pumpkin Center is located in Burke County
- Sunnyside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Tarkey Tail ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tarkey Tail have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarkey Tail
- Tarkey Tail is located in Burke County
- Worry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Yellow Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
- Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
How Far From Morganton 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 city such as Morganton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Morganton and extending to:
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Morganton to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 336 miles [540.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,234 miles [10,032.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,937 miles [11,164 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,815 miles [7,749 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Morganton. 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> | 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- Morganton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Morganton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7406, Longitude: -81.7005 In this case, the coordinates for Morganton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Morganton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.722 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.201 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.692 degrees. |