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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in South Union, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Union 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 South Union:
    • 34.551212, -83.051817
    • 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 South Union
  • 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 Oconee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Oconee County
    • Since South Union is near Franklin County and also Stephens County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stephens 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 South Union

Communities Also Named South Union ...

We found four communities that are also named South Union.

Within South Carolina, the name South Union is unique.

Beyond South Carolina, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Logan County
      • This South Union is located in Logan County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the South Union that is located in Oconee County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Logan County community of South Union.
    • Maine
      • Knox County
      • This South Union is located in Knox County and lies 990 miles [1,593.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the South Union that is located in Oconee County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of South Union.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Tioga County
      • This South Union is located in Tioga County and lies 585 miles [941.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the South Union that is located in Oconee County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tioga County community of South Union.
    • Washington
      • Thurston County
      • This South Union is located in Thurston County and lies 2,224 miles [3,579.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the South Union that is located in Oconee County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Thurston County community of South Union.

Curious and Interesting Names Near South Union ...

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.

  • Cross Roads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cross Roads is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
  • Earles Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Earles Grove is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earles Grove
  • Fair Play
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairplay Shores
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fairplay Shores is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay Shores
  • Gumlog
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gumlog is located in Franklin County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gumlog
  • Hicks Store
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hicks Store is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Store
  • Jenkins Ferry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jenkins Ferry is located in Stephens County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins Ferry
  • Johns Mill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Johns Mill is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns Mill
  • Oakway
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakway is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakway
  • Poplar Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Franklin County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Retreat
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Retreat is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
  • Return
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Return is located in Oconee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Return

How Far From South Union 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 South Union to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Walhalla, which is the Seat of Oconee County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from South Union to Walhalla, with an average speed<3> 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 121 miles [194.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 448 miles [721 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,345 miles [10,211.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,047 miles [11,341 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,925 miles [7,926 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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- South Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 South Union 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 South Union. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5512, Longitude: -83.0518       In this case, the coordinates for South Union have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.497 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.92 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.56 degrees.