Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rays Beach, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rays Beach and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rays Beach
- 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 Rays Beach:
- 36.377377, -76.839956
- 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 Rays Beach
- 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 Gates County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gates County
- Since Rays Beach is near Hertford County and also Bertie County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hertford County
- eBird sighting report for Bertie 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 Rays Beach ...
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.
- California
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for California have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- California is located in Hertford County
- Carter
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Eleanors Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eleanors Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eleanors Crossroads
- Eleanors Crossroads is located in Gates County
- Flat Branch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Branch
- Flat Branch is located in Gates County
- Gates
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates
- Gates is located in Gates County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gates <2>
- Gatesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
- Gatesville is located in Gates County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gatesville <2>
- Glovers Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glovers Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glovers Crossroads
- Glovers Crossroads is located in Bertie County
- Lloyd Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lloyd Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyd Crossroads
- Lloyd Crossroads is located in Hertford County
- Mount Gallows
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Gallows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gallows
- Mount Gallows is located in Hertford County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Pettys Shore
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pettys Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettys Shore
- Pettys Shore is located in Hertford County
- Pleasant Plains
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
- Pleasant Plains is located in Hertford County
- Savages Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savages Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savages Crossroads
- Savages Crossroads is located in Gates County
- Silver Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
- Silver Springs is located in Gates County
- Storys
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Tarheel
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pettys Shore
How Far From Rays Beach 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 Rays Beach to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rays Beach and extending to:
- Gatesville, which is the Seat of Gates County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 108 miles [173.8 km]<3> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Rays Beach to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 174 miles [280 km] to the north (N). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,996 miles [9,649.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,689 miles [10,764.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,571 miles [7,356.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rays Beach. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Gates County: www.gatescounty.govoffice2.com/
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- Rays Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rays Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.3774, Longitude: -76.8400 In this case, the coordinates for Rays Beach 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 Rays Beach 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 307.91 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.078 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.572 degrees. |