Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rockdale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockdale and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rockdale
- 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 Rockdale:
- 39.859880, -77.813287
- 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 Rockdale
- 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- Since Rockdale is near Fulton County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fulton County
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Rockdale ...
We found 36 communities that share the name Rockdale.
There are six communities within Pennsylvania that are also named Rockdale.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another 30 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 30 communities, 34 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- Bucks County
- Butler County
- Delaware County
- Jefferson County
- Lackawanna County
- Lehigh County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Jefferson County
- This Rockdale is located in Jefferson County and lies 677 miles [1,089.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Rockdale.
- Randolph County
- This Rockdale is located in Randolph County and lies 616 miles [991.4 km] to the southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Randolph County community of Rockdale.
- Colorado
- Chaffee County
- This Rockdale is located in Chaffee County and lies 1,520 miles [2,446.2 km]<1> to the west of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chaffee County community of Rockdale.
- Fremont 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 Colorado community of Rockdale [Fremont County].
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Boyd County
- This Rockdale is located in Boyd County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boyd County community of Rockdale.
- Owen County
- This Rockdale is located in Owen County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km] to the west southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Owen County community of Rockdale.
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Berkshire 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 Massachusetts community of Rockdale [Berkshire County].
- Bristol County
- This Rockdale is located in Bristol County and lies 379 miles [609.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bristol County community of Rockdale.
- Norfolk 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 Massachusetts community of Rockdale [Norfolk County].
- Missouri
- New York
- North Carolina
- Nova Scotia
- This Rockdale lies 947 miles [1,524 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Rockdale lies 321 miles [516.6 km]<1> to the north of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- Tennessee
- Maury County
- This Rockdale is located in Maury County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maury County community of Rockdale.
- Rutherford County
- This Rockdale is located in Rutherford County and lies 538 miles [865.8 km] to the west southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Rockdale.
- Texas
- Hopkins County
- This Rockdale is located in Hopkins County and lies 1,091 miles [1,755.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hopkins County community of Rockdale.
- Milam County
- This Rockdale is located in Milam County and lies 1,251 miles [2,013.3 km] to the west southwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Milam County community of Rockdale.
- Washington
- King County
- This Rockdale is located in King County and lies 2,211 miles [3,558.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockdale that is located in Franklin County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Rockdale.
- Lincoln 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 Washington community of Rockdale [Lincoln County].
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockdale ...
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.
- Bear Lick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Cashtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- Cashtown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cashtown <5>
- Clay Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Claylick
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Cove Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Gap
- Cove Gap is located in Franklin County
- Dickey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Dutchtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Edenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Franklin Furnace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Furnace
- Franklin Furnace is located in Franklin County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Greencastle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greencastle
- Greencastle is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,989 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greencastle <5>
- Marion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Franklin County
- Pleasant View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pleasant View is located in Franklin County
- Social Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Social Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Social Island
- Social Island is located in Franklin County
- Turkeyfoot
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkeyfoot have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeyfoot
- Turkeyfoot is located in Franklin County
- Welsh Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Greencastle
How Far From Rockdale to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Rockdale to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rockdale and extending to:
- Chambersburg, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rockdale to Chambersburg, with an average speed<6> 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 57 miles [91.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 78 miles [125.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,889 miles [9,477.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,476 miles [7,203.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rockdale. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Franklin County: www.co.franklin.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rockdale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockdale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8599, Longitude: -77.8133 In this case, the coordinates for Rockdale 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 Rockdale 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> | 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 Rockdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Rockdale to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.29 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.043 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.675 degrees. |