Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swiss, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swiss and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swiss
- 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 Swiss:
- 35.914277, -82.449855
- 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 Swiss
- 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 Yancey County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Yancey County
- Since Swiss is near Madison County and also Unicoi County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- eBird sighting report for Unicoi 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 Swiss ...
We found two communities that share the name Swiss.
Within North Carolina, the name Swiss is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Missouri
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swiss ...
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.
- Bee Log
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - California
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for California have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- California is located in Madison County
- Cane
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Elk Shoal
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - English
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Hawk Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawk Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Branch
- Hawk Branch is located in Yancey County
- Lewisburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Little Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Creek
- Little Creek is located in Madison County
- Paint Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paint Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Fork
- Paint Fork is located in Madison County
- Paint Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Possumtrot
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Possumtrot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possumtrot
- Possumtrot is located in Yancey County
- Price Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Price Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price Creek
- Price Creek is located in Yancey County
- Terry Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terry Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry Fork
- Terry Fork is located in Madison County
How Far From Swiss 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 Swiss to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swiss and extending to:
- Burnsville, which is the Seat of Yancey County, lies just to the East.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 213 miles [342.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Swiss to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>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 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 361 miles [581 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,257 miles [10,069.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,964 miles [11,207.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,841 miles [7,790.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swiss. 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Swiss) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swiss. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9143, Longitude: -82.4499 In this case, the coordinates for Swiss 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 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. |
| <4> | 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 Swiss to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.165 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.734 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.944 degrees. |