Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ranlo, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ranlo and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ranlo
- 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 Ranlo:
- 35.287357, -81.129600
- 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 Ranlo
- 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 Gaston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gaston County
- Since Ranlo is near Mecklenburg County and also Lincoln County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg County
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln 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 Ranlo ...
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.
- Boogertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boogertown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boogertown
- Boogertown is located in Gaston County
- Craig Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craig Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig Heights
- Craig Heights is located in Gaston County
- Forest Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Brook
- Forest Brook is located in Gaston County
- Groves
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Jenkins Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jenkins Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins Heights
- Jenkins Heights is located in Gaston County
- Love Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Mount Holly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
- Mount Holly is located in Gaston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,415 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Holly <2>
- Springwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Springwood is located in Gaston County
- Stanley
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Stanley is located in Gaston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,793 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanley <2>
How Far From Ranlo 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 town such as Ranlo to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ranlo and extending to:
- Gastonia, which is the Seat of Gaston County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 143 miles [230.1 km]<3> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Ranlo to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>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 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,230 miles [10,026.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,929 miles [11,151.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,808 miles [7,737.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ranlo. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Gaston County: www.co.gaston.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ranlo) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ranlo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.2874, Longitude: -81.1296 |
| <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 Ranlo 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 310.388 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.752 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.598 degrees. |