RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Blount County >> Rocky Branch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rocky Branch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rocky Branch 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 Rocky Branch:
    • 35.740919, -83.841009
    • 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 Rocky Branch
  • 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 Blount County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount County
    • Since Rocky Branch is near Sevier County and also Knox County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sevier County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Knox 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 Rocky Branch

Communities Also Named Rocky Branch ...

We found four communities that are also named Rocky Branch.

Within Tennessee, the name Rocky Branch is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Randolph County
      • This Rocky Branch is located in Randolph County and lies 188 miles [302.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Rocky Branch that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Randolph County community of Rocky Branch.
    • Louisiana
      • Union Parish
      • This Rocky Branch is located in Union Parish and lies 521 miles [838.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rocky Branch that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union Parish community of Rocky Branch.
    • Mississippi
      • Lamar County
      • This Rocky Branch is located in Lamar County and lies 452 miles [727.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rocky Branch that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lamar County community of Rocky Branch.
    • Texas
      • Morris County
      • This Rocky Branch is located in Morris County and lies 644 miles [1,036.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rocky Branch that is located in Blount County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morris County community of Rocky Branch.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rocky Branch ...

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.

  • Bank ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bank is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bank
  • Blockhouse
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Blockhouse is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
  • Cave Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cave Mill is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Mill
  • Cold Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cold Springs is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
  • Law Chapel
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Law Chapel is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Law Chapel
  • Mountain Trace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Mountain Trace is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Trace
  • Notime ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Notime is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notime
  • Peppermint Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Peppermint Hills is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peppermint Hills
  • Prospect
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Prospect is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
  • Sunshine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunshine is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
  • Twelve Oaks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Twelve Oaks is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks
  • Wildwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Wildwood is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood

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

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

  • Maryville, which is the Seat of Blount County, lies just to the West.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 166 miles [267.2 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Rocky Branch to Nashville, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about 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 432 miles [695.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,324 miles [10,177.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,033 miles [11,318.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,909 miles [7,900.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rocky Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Rocky Branch 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 Rocky Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7409, Longitude: -83.8410       In this case, the coordinates for Rocky Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.991 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.658 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.561 degrees.