Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tar Heel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tar Heel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tar Heel
- 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 Tar Heel:
- 34.733995, -78.792250
- 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 Tar Heel
- 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 Bladen County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bladen County
- Since Tar Heel is near Robeson County and also Cumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Robeson County
- eBird sighting report for Cumberland 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 Tar Heel ...
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.
- Butters
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Center Road
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Road have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Road
- Center Road is located in Bladen County
- Dublin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Elizabethtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
- Elizabethtown is located in Bladen County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabethtown <2>
- Horse Neck
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horse Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Neck
- Horse Neck is located in Robeson County
- Jerome
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerome. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Jerome is located in Bladen County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Jerome
- From Tar Heel to Jerome
- Lena
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Mayville Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayville Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayville Crossing
- Mayville Crossing is located in Robeson County
- Newlight
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Powers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Saddletree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddletree
- Saddletree is located in Robeson County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Saddletree
- From Tar Heel to Saddletree
How Far From Tar Heel 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 town such as Tar Heel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Tar Heel and extending to:
- Elizabethtown, which is the Seat of Bladen County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Tar Heel to Elizabethtown, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 72 miles [115.9 km] to the north (N). 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 303 miles [487.6 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,152 miles [9,900.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,843 miles [11,012.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,726 miles [7,605.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tar Heel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Bladen County: www.bladeninfo.net/
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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | 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- Tar Heel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tar Heel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7340, Longitude: -78.7922 |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Tar Heel to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.056 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.145 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.869 degrees. |