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 Smiths Ferry:
34.561807, -81.420376
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.
We found twelve communities that share the name Smiths Ferry.
Within South Carolina, the name Smiths Ferry is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Alabama
Coosa County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Coosa County and lies 292 miles [469.9 km]<1> to the west of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coosa County community of Smiths Ferry.
Greene County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Greene County and lies 404 miles [650.2 km] to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Smiths Ferry.
Arkansas
Garland County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Garland County and lies 662 miles [1,065.4 km]<1> to the west of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garland County community of Smiths Ferry.
California
Fresno County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Fresno County and lies 2,126 miles [3,421.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fresno County community of Smiths Ferry.
Idaho
Valley County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Valley County and lies 1,950 miles [3,138.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Smiths Ferry.
Kansas
Shawnee County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Shawnee County and lies 852 miles [1,371.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shawnee County community of Smiths Ferry.
Massachusetts
Hampden County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Hampden County and lies 712 miles [1,145.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Smiths Ferry.
Hampshire 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 Smiths Ferry [Hampshire County].
Mississippi
Warren County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Warren County and lies 555 miles [893.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Smiths Ferry.
Pennsylvania
Beaver County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Beaver County and lies 423 miles [680.8 km]<1> to the north of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaver County community of Smiths Ferry.
Texas
Tyler 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 Texas community of Smiths Ferry [Tyler County].
Virginia
Southampton County
This Smiths Ferry is located in Southampton County and lies 287 miles [461.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Smiths Ferry that is located in Union County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Southampton County community of Smiths Ferry.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Smiths Ferry ...
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.
Beaver Dam (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Smiths Ferry to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Smiths Ferry and extending to:
Union, which is the Seat of Union County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Smiths Ferry to Union, 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.
Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 44 miles [70.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 385 miles [619.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,275 miles [10,098.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,972 miles [11,220.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,852 miles [7,808.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
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- Smiths Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smiths Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5618, Longitude: -81.4204 In this case, the coordinates for Smiths Ferry 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Smiths Ferry 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>
An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Smiths Ferry 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 310.55 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.834 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.921 degrees.