Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Startown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Startown and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Startown

• 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 Startown:
  • 35.645133, -81.269250
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Startown

• 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 Catawba County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Catawba County
  • Since Startown is near Lincoln County and also Burke County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Burke 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Startown

Curious and Interesting Names Near Startown ...

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.

• Advent Crossroads
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Advent Crossroads is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advent Crossroads
• Fairbrook
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Fairbrook is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
• Fairgrove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Fairgrove is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
• Hickory
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Hickory is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,473 people
• Long View
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Long View is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
• Maiden
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Maiden is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maiden
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,421 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maiden <1>
• Mountain View
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mountain View is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
• Plateau
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Plateau is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
• Pleasant ‑ Historic
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant
• Providence Mill
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Providence Mill is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Mill
• Sweetwater
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Sweetwater is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater

How Far From Startown 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 community such as Startown to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Startown and extending to:

• Newton, which is the Seat of Catawba County, lies just to the East Northeast.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 147 miles [236.6 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Startown to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>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 323 miles [519.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,220 miles [10,010.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,921 miles [11,138.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,800 miles [7,724.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'