Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rapids, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rapids and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rapids
- 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 Rapids:
- 43.098391, -78.640863
- 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 Rapids
- 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 Niagara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Niagara County
- Since Rapids is near Erie County and also Genesee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Erie County
- eBird sighting report for Genesee 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 Rapids ...
We found six communities that share the name Rapids.
There is one other community in New York which is also named Rapids.
Beyond New York, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In New York ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- Montana
- Stillwater County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Rapids [Stillwater County].
- Yellowstone County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Rapids [Yellowstone County].
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rapids ...
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.
- Clarence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Clarence is located in Erie County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarence <3>
- Gasport
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasport
- Gasport is located in Niagara County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gasport <3>
- Gilberts Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilberts Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilberts Corner
- Gilberts Corner is located in Niagara County
- Hickory Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Corners
- Hickory Corners is located in Niagara County
- Hunts Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunts Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corners
- Hunts Corners is located in Erie County
- Lockport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport
- Lockport is located in Niagara County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,194 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lockport <3>
- Raymond
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Niagara County
- Sand Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Shooktown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Swifts Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swifts Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swifts Mills
- Swifts Mills is located in Erie County
- Terrys Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terrys Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Corners
- Terrys Corners is located in Niagara County
- Woodstream Farms
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstream Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstream Farms
- Woodstream Farms is located in Erie County
How Far From Rapids 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 Rapids to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Rapids and extending to:
- Lockport, which is the Seat of Niagara County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 248 miles [399.1 km]<4> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Rapids to Albany, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 301 miles [484.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 5,784 miles [9,308.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,509 miles [10,475.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,385 miles [7,057 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rapids. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Niagara County: www.niagaracounty.com/
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Rapids 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. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0984, Longitude: -78.6409 In this case, the coordinates for Rapids have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rapids 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 308.559 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.852 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.758 degrees. |