Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Big Rock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Rock and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Big Rock
- 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 Big Rock:
- 32.359311, -95.941079
- 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 Big Rock
- 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 Henderson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Henderson County
- Since Big Rock is near Van Zandt County and also Kaufman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Van Zandt County
- eBird sighting report for Kaufman 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
Communities Also Named Big Rock ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Big Rock.
Within Texas, the name Big Rock is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Pulaski County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Big Rock [Pulaski County].
- Sebastian County
- This Big Rock is located in Sebastian County and lies 216 miles [347.6 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Big Rock that is located in Henderson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sebastian County community of Big Rock.
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Black Hawk County
- This Big Rock is located in Black Hawk County and lies 731 miles [1,176.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Big Rock that is located in Henderson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Black Hawk County community of Big Rock.
- Clinton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Big Rock [Clinton County].
- Scott County
- This Big Rock is located in Scott County and lies 707 miles [1,137.8 km] to the north northeast of the Big Rock that is located in Henderson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Big Rock.
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Rock ...
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.
- Crescent Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Heights
- Crescent Heights is located in Henderson County
- Enchanted Oaks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enchanted Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Oaks
- Enchanted Oaks is located in Henderson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Gun Barrel City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gun Barrel City
- Gun Barrel City is located in Henderson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,309 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gun Barrel City <5>
- Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Holly Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Log Cabin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Mars
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Martins Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martins Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Mill
- Martins Mill is located in Van Zandt County
- Pickens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Prairieville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairieville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Prairieville is located in Kaufman County
- Tundra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Wise
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Big Rock 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 Big Rock to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Big Rock and extending to:
- Athens, which is the Seat of Henderson County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Big Rock to Athens, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 179 miles [288.1 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,150 miles [1,850.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 66 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,974 miles [11,223.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,705 miles [12,400 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,582 miles [8,983.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Rock. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Big Rock 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. |
| <2> | 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- Big Rock) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Rock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.3593, Longitude: -95.9411 In this case, the coordinates for Big Rock have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Big Rock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Big Rock to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.319 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.703 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.327 degrees. |