Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sunnyvale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sunnyvale and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sunnyvale
- 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 Sunnyvale:
- 35.739010, -82.135949
- 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 Sunnyvale
- 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 McDowell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McDowell County
- Since Sunnyvale is near Yancey County and also Mitchell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Yancey County
- eBird sighting report for Mitchell 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
Communities Also Named Sunnyvale ...
We found four communities that share the name Sunnyvale.
Within North Carolina, the name Sunnyvale is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Colorado
- Missouri
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sunnyvale ...
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.
- Cattail Creek Community
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cattail Creek Community have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattail Creek Community
- Cattail Creek Community is located in Yancey County
- Garden Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Creek
- Garden Creek is located in McDowell County
- Graphite
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Little Switzerland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Switzerland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Switzerland
- Little Switzerland is located in McDowell County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Switzerland <3>
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in McDowell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,937 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <3>
- Pleasant Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gardens
- Pleasant Gardens is located in McDowell County
- Providence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Strawberry Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Ridge
- Strawberry Ridge is located in Mitchell County
- Stumptown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Toms Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toms Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms Creek
- Toms Creek is located in McDowell County
- Woodlawn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Sunnyvale 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 Sunnyvale to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sunnyvale and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of McDowell County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 195 miles [313.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Sunnyvale to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 354 miles [569.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,252 miles [10,061.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,957 miles [11,196.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,834 miles [7,779.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sunnyvale. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sunnyvale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sunnyvale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7390, Longitude: -82.1359 In this case, the coordinates for Sunnyvale have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Sunnyvale 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 310.978 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.495 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.868 degrees. |