Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Raccoon Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Raccoon Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Raccoon Valley
- 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 Raccoon Valley:
- 36.229525, -83.841855
- 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 Raccoon Valley
- 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Union County
- Since Raccoon Valley is near Knox County and also Anderson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Knox County
- eBird sighting report for Anderson 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 Raccoon Valley ...
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.
- Chestnut Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
- Chestnut Grove is located in Union County
- Copper Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Ridge
- Copper Ridge is located in Knox County
- Estimated population in 2014: 333 people
- Duke ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - House Mountain ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for House Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House Mountain
- House Mountain is located in Knox County
- Hurricane Branch ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurricane Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Branch
- Hurricane Branch is located in Union County
- Irwin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Lickskillet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lickskillet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Lickskillet is located in Union County
- Loo ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Lost Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Lost Creek is located in Union County
- Paulette
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Pinhook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Plainview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Rose Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Rule ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Raccoon Valley 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 Raccoon Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Raccoon Valley and extending to:
- Maynardville, which is the Seat of Union County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 163 miles [262.3 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Raccoon Valley to Nashville, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 415 miles [667.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,301 miles [10,140.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,012 miles [11,284.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,888 miles [7,866.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Raccoon Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Union County: www.unioncountytn.org/
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Raccoon Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Raccoon Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2295, Longitude: -83.8419 In this case, the coordinates for Raccoon Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Raccoon Valley to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.001 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.739 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.429 degrees. |