Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Roanoke Rapids, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Roanoke Rapids and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Roanoke Rapids
- 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 Roanoke Rapids:
- 36.461155, -77.654711
- 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 Roanoke Rapids
- 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 Halifax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Halifax County
- Since Roanoke Rapids is near Northampton County and also Greensville County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Northampton County
- eBird sighting report for Greensville 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 Roanoke Rapids ...
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.
- Brewers Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brewers Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewers Crossroads
- Brewers Crossroads is located in Northampton County
- Days Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Days Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Crossroads
- Days Crossroads is located in Halifax County
- Garysburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garysburg
- Garysburg is located in Northampton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 913 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garysburg <2>
- Gum Forks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Gumberry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Mud Castle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mud Castle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Castle
- Mud Castle is located in Northampton County
- Pierces Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierces Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierces Crossroads
- Pierces Crossroads is located in Halifax County
- Pleasant Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Northampton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <2>
- Rosemary
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Slates Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slates Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slates Corner
- Slates Corner is located in Greensville County (VA)
How Far From Roanoke Rapids to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Roanoke Rapids to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Roanoke Rapids and extending to:
- Halifax, which is the Seat of Halifax County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Roanoke Rapids to Halifax, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 72 miles [115.9 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 171 miles [275.2 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 6,028 miles [9,701.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,724 miles [10,821.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,604 miles [7,409.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Roanoke Rapids: www.roanokerapidsnc.com/
The official website for Halifax County: www.halifaxnc.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Roanoke Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Roanoke Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4612, Longitude: -77.6547 |
| <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 Roanoke Rapids 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 308.37 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.616 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.859 degrees. |