RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Smith County >> Sand Flat >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sand Flat, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sand Flat 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 Sand Flat:
    • 32.487366, -95.280784
    • 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 Sand Flat
  • 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 Smith County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Smith County
    • Since Sand Flat is near Wood County and also Upshur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wood County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Upshur 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 Sand Flat

Communities Also Named Sand Flat ...

We found three communities that are also named Sand Flat.

There are three communities within Texas that are also named Sand Flat.

Beyond Texas.

  • Communities Located In Texas ...
    • Johnson County
      • This Sand Flat is located in Johnson County and lies 117 miles [188.3 km]<1> to the west of the Sand Flat that is located in Smith County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Sand Flat.
    • Rains County
      • Although located in Rains County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rains County community of Sand Flat.
    • Van Zandt County
      • This Sand Flat is located in Van Zandt County and lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sand Flat that is located in Smith County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Zandt County community of Sand Flat.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sand Flat ...

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.

  • Angler
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Angler is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angler
  • Crow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Crow is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
  • Hide-A-Way Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hide-A-Way Lake is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hide-A-Way Lake
  • Hideaway
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hideaway is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,208 people
  • Pine Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Pine Springs is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
  • Red Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Red Springs is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
  • Shady Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Shady Grove is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Swan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Swan is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
  • Waters Bluff
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Waters Bluff is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Bluff
  • Wood Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Wood Springs is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Springs

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

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

  • Tyler, which is the Seat of Smith County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Sand Flat to Tyler, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 211 miles [339.6 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 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,112 miles [1,789.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 44 days and walking would take 64 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,942 miles [11,172.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,671 miles [12,345.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,548 miles [8,928.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Sand Flat) 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 Sand Flat 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 Sand Flat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4874, Longitude: -95.2808       In this case, the coordinates for Sand Flat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.901 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.229 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.022 degrees.