RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Great Falls, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Great Falls 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 Great Falls:
    • 34.571571, -80.897921
    • 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 Great Falls
  • 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 Great Falls ...

We found seven communities that share the name Great Falls.

Within South Carolina, the name Great Falls is unique.

Beyond South Carolina, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maine
      • Androscoggin 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 Maine community of Great Falls [Androscoggin County].
      • Cumberland County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Maine community of Great Falls [Cumberland County].
    • Manitoba
      • This Great Falls lies 1,334 miles [2,146.9 km]<3> to the north northwest of the Great Falls that is located in Chester County.
    • Maryland
      • Montgomery County
      • This Great Falls is located in Montgomery County and lies 366 miles [589 km]<3> to the north northeast of the Great Falls that is located in Chester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Great Falls.
    • Montana
      • Cascade County
      • This Great Falls is located in Cascade County and lies 1,801 miles [2,898.4 km]<3> to the northwest of the Great Falls that is located in Chester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cascade County community of Great Falls.
    • New York
      • Greene 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 New York community of Great Falls [Greene County].
    • Virginia
      • Fairfax County
      • This Great Falls is located in Fairfax County and lies 364 miles [585.8 km]<3> to the north northeast of the Great Falls that is located in Chester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfax County community of Great Falls.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Great Falls ...

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.

  • Anvil Rock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anvil Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anvil Rock
    • Anvil Rock is located in Lancaster County
  • Bell Town
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
    • Bell Town is located in Lancaster County
  • Bucklick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bucklick have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucklick
    • Bucklick is located in Fairfield County
  • Crocketts Crossroad
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crocketts Crossroad have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crocketts Crossroad
    • Crocketts Crossroad is located in Lancaster County
  • Dutchman Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutchman Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchman Creek
    • Dutchman Creek is located in Fairfield County
  • Erwin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erwin have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwin
    • Erwin is located in Lancaster County
  • Fort Lawn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Fudges ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fudges have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fudges
    • Fudges is located in Chester County
  • Grace
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
    • Grace is located in Lancaster County
  • Green Peach Orchard
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Peach Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Peach Orchard
    • Green Peach Orchard is located in Lancaster County
  • Irwin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Irwin is located in Lancaster County
  • Jones Crossroads
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossroads
    • Jones Crossroads is located in Lancaster County
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Kingsbury ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
      • Kingsbury is located in Lancaster County
    • Lake View
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
      • Lake View is located in Chester County
    • Liberty Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Springs Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springs Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springs Park
      • Springs Park is located in Lancaster County

How Far From Great Falls 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 town such as Great Falls to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Chester, which is the Seat of Chester County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Great Falls to Chester, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 40 miles [64.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 367 miles [590.6 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,252 miles [10,061.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,948 miles [11,181.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,828 miles [7,769.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Great Falls. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.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 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 Great Falls 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>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 Great Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Great Falls) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Great Falls. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5716, Longitude: -80.8979    
<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 Great Falls 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 310.251 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.491 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.717 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024