Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sparks Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sparks Ferry and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sparks Ferry
- 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 Sparks Ferry:
- 34.531546, -79.830342
- 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 Sparks Ferry
- 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 Marlboro County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marlboro County
- Since Sparks Ferry is near Darlington County and also Chesterfield County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Darlington County
- eBird sighting report for Chesterfield 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sparks 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.
- Argyle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Cash
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Dovesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dovesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
- Dovesville is located in Darlington County
- Everetts ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Grace Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Heights
- Grace Heights is located in Marlboro County
- Greenplains ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenplains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenplains
- Greenplains is located in Darlington County
- Lumber ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Plumfield Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumfield Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumfield Landing
- Plumfield Landing is located in Darlington County
- Robbins Neck
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robbins Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Neck
- Robbins Neck is located in Darlington County
- Society Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Society Hill
- Society Hill is located in Darlington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Society Hill <3>
- Sunnybrook Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnybrook Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybrook Heights
- Sunnybrook Heights is located in Marlboro County
- Welsh Neck ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welsh Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh Neck
- Welsh Neck is located in Marlboro County
How Far From Sparks Ferry to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sparks Ferry to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Sparks Ferry and extending to:
- Bennettsville, which is the Seat of Marlboro County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sparks Ferry to Bennettsville, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 338 miles [544 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,207 miles [9,989.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,900 miles [11,104.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,782 miles [7,695.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sparks Ferry. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Marlboro County: www.marlborocounty.sc.gov/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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- Sparks Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sparks Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5315, Longitude: -79.8303 In this case, the coordinates for Sparks Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Sparks 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 309.643 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.788 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.323 degrees. |