Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rock City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock City and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rock City
- 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 Rock City:
- 42.404251, -73.577338
- 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 Rock City
- 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 Columbia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Columbia County
- Since Rock City is near Rensselaer County and also Berkshire County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rensselaer County
- eBird sighting report for Berkshire 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 Rock City ...
We found ten communities that share the name Rock City.
There are two communities within New York that are also named Rock City.
Beyond New York, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In New York ...
- Cattaraugus County
- Dutchess County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Jackson County
- This Rock City is located in Jackson County and lies 860 miles [1,384 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rock City that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Rock City.
- Marion County
- This Rock City is located in Marion County and lies 960 miles [1,545 km] to the west southwest of the Rock City that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Rock City.
- California
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Tennessee
- Smith County
- This Rock City is located in Smith County and lies 788 miles [1,268.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rock City that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Smith County community of Rock City.
- Sullivan County
- This Rock City is located in Sullivan County and lies 620 miles [997.8 km] to the southwest of the Rock City that is located in Columbia County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Rock City.
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock City ...
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.
- Brick Tavern
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brick Tavern have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Tavern
- Brick Tavern is located in Columbia County
- Flatbrook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Green River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Green River is located in Columbia County
- Harlemville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlemville
- Harlemville is located in Columbia County
- Kinderhook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
- Kinderhook is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,121 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kinderhook <4>
- Newton Hook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton Hook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hook
- Newton Hook is located in Columbia County
- Otter Hook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Hook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Hook
- Otter Hook is located in Greene County
- Poolsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Red Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Red Rock is located in Columbia County
- Riders
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Riders Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riders Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riders Mills
- Riders Mills is located in Columbia County
- Sunnyside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
How Far From Rock City 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 Rock City to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rock City and extending to:
- Hudson, which is the Seat of Columbia County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rock City to Hudson, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 19 miles [30.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). The buggy would take 6 hours and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 302 miles [486 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 5,607 miles [9,023.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,320 miles [10,171.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,195 miles [6,751.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Columbia County: www.columbiacountyny.com/
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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rock City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4043, Longitude: -73.5773 In this case, the coordinates for Rock City 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 Rock City 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 Rock City 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 305.489 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.281 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.691 degrees. |