RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Lehigh County >> Rising Sun >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Rising Sun, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rising Sun and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Rising Sun:
    • 40.702432, -75.596340
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Rising Sun
  • 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 Lehigh County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lehigh County
    • Since Rising Sun is near Northampton County and also Carbon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Northampton County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carbon 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Rising Sun

Communities Also Named Rising Sun ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Rising Sun.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Rising Sun is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of twelve communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Delaware
      • Kent County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Kent County and lies 110 miles [177 km]<1> to the south of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Rising Sun.
    • Illinois
      • Pope County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Pope County and lies 731 miles [1,176.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pope County community of Rising Sun.
      • White County
      • This Rising Sun is located in White County and lies 688 miles [1,107.2 km] to the west of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Rising Sun.
    • Indiana
      • Ohio County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Ohio County and lies 505 miles [812.7 km]<1> to the west of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ohio County community of Rising Sun.
    • Iowa
      • Polk County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Polk County and lies 930 miles [1,496.7 km]<1> to the west of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Rising Sun.
    • Kansas
      • Jefferson County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Jefferson County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Rising Sun.
    • Maryland
      • Carroll County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Carroll County and lies 110 miles [177 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Rising Sun.
      • Cecil County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Cecil County and lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the south southwest of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cecil County community of Rising Sun.
    • Mississippi
      • Leflore County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Leflore County and lies 945 miles [1,520.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leflore County community of Rising Sun.
    • Montana
      • Glacier County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Glacier County and lies 1,919 miles [3,088.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Glacier County community of Rising Sun.
    • Texas
      • Shackelford County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Rising Sun [Shackelford County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Crawford County
      • This Rising Sun is located in Crawford County and lies 808 miles [1,300.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rising Sun that is located in Lehigh County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crawford County community of Rising Sun.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rising Sun ...

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.

  • Apps
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Apps is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apps
  • Best Station
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Best Station is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Best Station
  • Cherryville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Coffeetown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Coffeetown is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffeetown
  • Egypt
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Egypt is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
  • Emerald
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Home Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Home Park is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Park
  • Indianland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Indianland is located in Northampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianland
  • Lockport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mechanicsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mechanicsville is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
  • Peters Store
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Peters Store is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Store
  • River View
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • River View is located in Lehigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rockdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Schnecksville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Schnecksville is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schnecksville
    • Slate Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Slate Valley is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Valley
    • Slatedale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Trout Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Trout Creek is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Creek
    • Unionville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Unionville is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville

How Far From Rising Sun 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 Rising Sun to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rising Sun and extending to:

  • Allentown, which is the Seat of Lehigh County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rising Sun to Allentown, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). 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 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 146 miles [235 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,761 miles [9,271.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,470 miles [10,412.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,346 miles [6,994.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rising Sun) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rising Sun, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Rising Sun 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.
<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 Rising Sun to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rising Sun. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7024, Longitude: -75.5963       In this case, the coordinates for Rising Sun have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.893 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.591 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.363 degrees.