Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Big Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Island and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Big Island
- 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 Big Island:
- 41.320545, -74.404397
- 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 Big Island
- 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 Orange County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- Since Big Island is near Sussex County and also Passaic County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sussex County
- eBird sighting report for Passaic 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 Big Island ...
We found six communities that share the name Big Island.
Within New York, the name Big Island is unique.
Beyond New York, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, four are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Rapides Parish
- This Big Island is located in Rapides Parish and lies 1,200 miles [1,931.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Big Island that is located in Orange County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rapides Parish community of Big Island.
- Minnesota
- Hennepin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Big Island [Hennepin County].
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Big Island lies 1,202 miles [1,934.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Big Island that is located in Orange County.
- Nova Scotia
- This Big Island lies 669 miles [1,076.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Big Island that is located in Orange County.
- Ohio
- Marion County
- This Big Island is located in Marion County and lies 461 miles [741.9 km]<1> to the west of the Big Island that is located in Orange County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Big Island.
- Virginia
- Bedford County
- This Big Island is located in Bedford County and lies 371 miles [597.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Big Island that is located in Orange County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bedford County community of Big Island.
- Louisiana
Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Island ...
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.
- Cedarcrest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarcrest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarcrest
- Cedarcrest is located in Orange County
- Eden
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Edenville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Florida
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florida have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Florida is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,886 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florida <4>
- Homestead Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homestead Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead Village
- Homestead Village is located in Orange County
- Little York
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little York have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
- Little York is located in Orange County
- Otter Kill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Kill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Kill
- Otter Kill is located in Orange County
- Pine Island
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Island
- Pine Island is located in Orange County
- Rocky Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hill
- Rocky Hill is located in Orange County
- Slate Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slate Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Hill
- Slate Hill is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Slate Hill <4>
- Snufftown
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Sugar Loaf
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Loaf have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Loaf
- Sugar Loaf is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugar Loaf <4>
How Far From Big Island 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 community such as Big Island to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Big Island and extending to:
- Goshen, which is the Seat of Orange County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Big Island to Albany, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 217 miles [349.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,686 miles [9,150.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,395 miles [10,291.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,271 miles [6,873.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Orange County: www.co.orange.ny.us/
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3205, Longitude: -74.4044 In this case, the coordinates for Big Island have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Big Island could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Big Island 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 306.115 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.811 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.566 degrees. |