RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Wilson County >> Muncie >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Muncie, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Muncie and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Muncie:
    • 36.231164, -86.381659
    • 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 Muncie
  • 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 Wilson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilson County
    • Since Muncie is near Sumner County and also Trousdale County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sumner County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Trousdale 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 Muncie

Communities Also Named Muncie ...

We found two communities that are also named Muncie.

Within Tennessee, the name Muncie is unique.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • Vermilion County
      • This Muncie is located in Vermilion County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Muncie that is located in Wilson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vermilion County community of Muncie.
    • Indiana
      • Delaware County
      • This Muncie is located in Delaware County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the north of the Muncie that is located in Wilson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delaware County community of Muncie.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Muncie ...

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.

  • Cairo Bend
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cairo Bend is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Bend
  • Ebaneezer ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ebaneezer is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebaneezer
  • Flat Rock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Flat Rock is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
  • Forktown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Forktown is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forktown
  • Leeville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Leeville is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeville
  • Maple Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Maple Hill is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
  • Martha
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Martha is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martha
  • Possum Town
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Possum Town is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Town
  • Silver Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Springs is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs

How Far From Muncie to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Muncie to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Muncie once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Muncie and extending to:

  • Lebanon, which is the Seat of Wilson County, lies just to the East Southeast.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Muncie to Nashville, with an average speed<3> 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.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 543 miles [873.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 31 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,405 miles [10,307.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,123 miles [11,463.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,998 miles [8,043.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Muncie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Muncie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Muncie 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 Muncie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2312, Longitude: -86.3817       In this case, the coordinates for Muncie have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.551 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.52 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.501 degrees.