RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rock City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rock City 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 Rock City:
    • 36.567602, -82.435701
    • 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 Rock City
  • 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

Communities Also Named Rock City ...

We found ten communities that share the name Rock City.

There is one other community in Tennessee which is also named Rock City.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Tennessee ...
    • Smith County
      • This Rock City is located in Smith County and lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<1> to the west of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Smith County community of Rock City.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jackson County
      • This Rock City is located in Jackson County and lies 242 miles [389.5 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Rock City.
      • Marion County
      • This Rock City is located in Marion County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km] to the west southwest of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Rock City.
    • California
      • Contra Costa County
      • This Rock City is located in Contra Costa County and lies 2,157 miles [3,471.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Contra Costa County community of Rock City.
    • Georgia
      • Walker County
      • This Rock City is located in Walker County and lies 196 miles [315.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walker County community of Rock City.
    • Illinois
      • Stephenson County
      • This Rock City is located in Stephenson County and lies 550 miles [885.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stephenson County community of Rock City.
    • Kansas
      • Ottawa 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 Kansas community of Rock City [Ottawa County].
    • New York
      • Cattaraugus County
      • This Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County and lies 431 miles [693.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cattaraugus County community of Rock City.
      • Columbia County
      • This Rock City is located in Columbia County and lies 620 miles [997.8 km] to the northeast of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Rock City.
      • Dutchess County
      • This Rock City is located in Dutchess County and lies 592 miles [952.7 km] to the northeast of the Rock City that is located in Sullivan County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dutchess County community of Rock City.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rock City ...

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.

  • Fox Fire
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Fire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Fire
    • Fox Fire is located in Sullivan County
  • Gunnings
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gunnings have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunnings
    • Gunnings is located in Sullivan County
  • Harmony Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Hills
    • Harmony Hills is located in Sullivan County
  • Holiday Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
    • Holiday Hills is located in Sullivan County
  • Indian Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
    • Indian Hills is located in Sullivan County
  • Mystic Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mystic Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic Valley
    • Mystic Valley is located in Sullivan County
  • Pettyjohn Mill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pettyjohn Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettyjohn Mill
    • Pettyjohn Mill is located in Sullivan County
  • Scenic Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scenic Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Woods
    • Scenic Woods is located in Sullivan County
  • Sunnyside
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnyside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Sunnyside is located in Sullivan County
  • Sunrise Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Valley
    • Sunrise Valley is located in Sullivan County

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

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

  • Blountville, which is the Seat of Sullivan County, lies just to the East Southeast.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 243 miles [391.1 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Rock City to Nashville, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 335 miles [539.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,227 miles [10,021.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,936 miles [11,162.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,812 miles [7,744.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rock City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Sullivan County: www.sullivancounty.org/

The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.gov/

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 from Point A (ie- Rock City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5676, Longitude: -82.4357       In this case, the coordinates for Rock City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Rock City 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>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Rock City to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.16 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.823 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.75 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024