Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Steel Creek, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Steel Creek and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Steel Creek
- 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 Steel Creek:
- 35.127088, -80.960353
- 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 Steel Creek
- 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 Mecklenburg County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg County
- Since Steel Creek is near York County and also Gaston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for York County
- eBird sighting report for Gaston 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 Steel Creek ...
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.
- Dixie
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Eden Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Gardens
- Eden Gardens is located in Mecklenburg County
- Forest Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
- Forest Lake is located in York County (SC)
- Grey Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Greycrest
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Hebron ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Heritage Woods
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Woods
- Heritage Woods is located in York County (SC)
- Honeysuckle Woods
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honeysuckle Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeysuckle Woods
- Honeysuckle Woods is located in York County (SC)
- Olympic Woods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olympic Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olympic Woods
- Olympic Woods is located in Mecklenburg County
- Ramblewood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramblewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramblewood
- Ramblewood is located in Mecklenburg County
- Sunrise Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Point
- Sunrise Point is located in York County (SC)
- Twelve Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twelve Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks
- Twelve Oaks is located in Mecklenburg County
- Windsong Trails
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsong Trails have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Trails
- Windsong Trails is located in Mecklenburg County
How Far From Steel Creek 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 Steel Creek to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Steel Creek once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Steel Creek and extending to:
- Charlotte, which is the Seat of Mecklenburg County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Steel Creek to Charlotte, 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 138 miles [222.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 338 miles [544 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,229 miles [10,024.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,928 miles [11,149.5 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 ...
The official website for Mecklenburg County: www.charmeck.org
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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Steel Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Steel Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Steel Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.1271, Longitude: -80.9604 In this case, the coordinates for Steel Creek 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 Steel Creek 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 310.289 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.616 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.579 degrees. |