RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> York County >> Matthews Estates >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Matthews Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Matthews Estates 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 Matthews Estates:
    • 34.970979, -81.026744
    • 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 Matthews Estates
  • 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 York County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York County
    • Since Matthews Estates is near Lancaster County and also Mecklenburg County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg 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 Matthews Estates

Curious and Interesting Names Near Matthews Estates ...

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.

  • Cedarwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Cedarwood is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarwood
  • Ebenezer
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Ebenezer is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
  • Fairlawn
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Fairlawn is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
  • Hickory Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hickory Hill is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
  • India Hook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • India Hook is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India Hook
  • Island View Landing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Island View Landing is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island View Landing
  • Meadow Lakes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadow Lakes is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lakes
  • Mexico
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mexico is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
  • Pecan Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Pecan Grove is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Grove
  • Pineridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pineridge is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
  • Red River
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Red River is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River
  • Riverview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Riverview is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rock Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Shadowbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Shadowbrook is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadowbrook
    • Swan Meadows
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Swan Meadows is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Meadows
    • Wintercrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Wintercrest is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintercrest
    • Wood Forest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wood Forest is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Forest
    • Woodwind
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Woodwind is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodwind

How Far From Matthews Estates 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 Matthews Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Matthews Estates and extending to:

  • York, which is the Seat of York County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Matthews Estates to York, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 67 miles [107.8 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 349 miles [561.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,239 miles [10,040.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,938 miles [11,165.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,817 miles [7,752.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Matthews Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Matthews Estates 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 Matthews Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.9710, Longitude: -81.0267       In this case, the coordinates for Matthews Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.327 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.637 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.651 degrees.