Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rockwall, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockwall and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall:
- 32.918765, -96.444898
- 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 Rockwall
- 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 Rockwall County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rockwall County
- Since Rockwall is near Dallas County and also Kaufman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Dallas 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockwall ...
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.
- Burrow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Centerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Dallas County
- Clear Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Clear Lake is located in Collin County
- Copeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeville
- Copeville is located in Collin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Copeville <2>
- Fate
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fate
- Fate is located in Rockwall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,434 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fate <2>
- Glen Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Liberty Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Liberty Grove is located in Dallas County
- Little Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Ridge
- Little Ridge is located in Collin County
- Murphy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Murphy is located in Collin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,844 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Murphy <2>
- Nevada
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada
- Nevada is located in Collin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nevada <2>
- Rose Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Union Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Valley
- Union Valley is located in Hunt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
How Far From Rockwall 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 city such as Rockwall to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rockwall and extending to:
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 198 miles [318.7 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Rockwall to Austin, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 66 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,964 miles [11,207.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,697 miles [12,387.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,576 miles [8,973.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rockwall: www.rockwall.com/
The official website for Rockwall County: www.rockwallcountytexas.com/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockwall) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockwall. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.9188, Longitude: -96.4449 In this case, the coordinates for Rockwall have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rockwall 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 319.724 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.249 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.486 degrees. |