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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ridgecrest, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest:
    • 36.169228, -85.461085
    • 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 Ridgecrest
  • 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 Putnam County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Putnam County
    • Since Ridgecrest is near Overton County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Overton County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Ridgecrest

Communities Also Named Ridgecrest ...

We found 22 communities that are also named Ridgecrest.

Within Tennessee, the name Ridgecrest is unique.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of 22 communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Jefferson County and lies 205 miles [329.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Ridgecrest.
      • Montgomery County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Montgomery County and lies 268 miles [431.3 km] to the south of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Arkansas
      • Lonoke County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Lonoke County and lies 379 miles [609.9 km]<1> to the west of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Ridgecrest.
    • California
      • Kern County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Kern County and lies 1,793 miles [2,885.6 km]<1> to the west of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Florida
      • Pinellas County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Pinellas County and lies 591 miles [951.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pinellas County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Georgia
      • Henry County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Henry County and lies 193 miles [310.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Illinois
      • Grundy County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Grundy County and lies 394 miles [634.1 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grundy County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Louisiana
      • Concordia Parish
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Concordia Parish and lies 469 miles [754.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Concordia Parish community of Ridgecrest.
      • Ouachita Parish
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Ouachita Parish and lies 460 miles [740.3 km] to the west southwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ouachita Parish community of Ridgecrest.
    • Maryland
      • Montgomery County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Montgomery County and lies 499 miles [803.1 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Ridgecrest.
    • North Carolina
      • Buncombe County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Buncombe County and lies 181 miles [291.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buncombe County community of Ridgecrest.
    • South Carolina
      • Aiken County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Aiken County and lies 273 miles [439.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aiken County community of Ridgecrest.
      • Florence County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Florence County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km] to the east southeast of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Florence County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Texas
      • Brazos 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 Ridgecrest [Brazos County].
      • Harris County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Harris County and lies 727 miles [1,170 km]<1> to the southwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harris County community of Ridgecrest.
      • Jefferson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Ridgecrest [Jefferson County].
      • Orange County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Orange County and lies 632 miles [1,017.1 km] to the southwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Ridgecrest.
      • Randall County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Ridgecrest [Randall County].
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,454 miles [2,340 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Virginia
      • Fairfax 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 Virginia community of Ridgecrest [Fairfax County].
      • Pittsylvania County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County and lies 337 miles [542.3 km]<1> to the east of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pittsylvania County community of Ridgecrest.
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Ridgecrest is located in King County and lies 2,030 miles [3,267 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ridgecrest that is located in Putnam County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Ridgecrest.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgecrest ...

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.

  • Dry Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Dry Valley is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Valley
  • Grandview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Grandview is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Green Acres
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Acres is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Green Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Hills is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hills
  • Honeybrook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Honeybrook is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeybrook
  • Indian Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Indian Hills is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Laurel Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Laurel Park is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
  • Marchbanks ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Marchbanks is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchbanks
  • Mountain Meadows
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mountain Meadows is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Meadows
  • Peekville ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Peekville is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peekville
  • Pleasant View
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Pleasant View is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
  • Poplar Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Post Oak
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Post Oak is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak
    • Rolling Meadows
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rolling Meadows is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
    • Shepherd Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Shepherd Hills is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherd Hills
    • Sun Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Sun Valley is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
    • Tanglewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tanglewood is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood

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

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

  • Cookeville, which is the Seat of Putnam County, lies just to the West.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 73 miles [117.5 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Ridgecrest to Nashville, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 498 miles [801.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 20 days and walking would take 29 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,370 miles [10,251.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,086 miles [11,403.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,961 miles [7,984 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Ridgecrest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Ridgecrest 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>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 Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1692, Longitude: -85.4611       In this case, the coordinates for Ridgecrest have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.983 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.858 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.125 degrees.