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:
37.367895, -81.222042
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.
There is one other community in West Virginia which is also named Rock.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another 21 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
Communities Located In West Virginia ...
Mercer 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 West Virginia community of Rock [Mercer County].
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Arkansas
Madison County
This Rock is located in Madison County and lies 702 miles [1,129.8 km]<2> to the west of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Rock.
Florida
Hernando 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 Florida community of Rock [Hernando County].
Hillsborough County
This Rock is located in Hillsborough County and lies 661 miles [1,063.8 km]<2> to the south of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Rock.
Georgia
Upson County
This Rock is located in Upson County and lies 348 miles [560.1 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Upson County community of Rock.
Illinois
Pope County
This Rock is located in Pope County and lies 405 miles [651.8 km]<2> to the west of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pope County community of Rock.
Iowa
Cerro Gordo 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 Rock [Cerro Gordo County].
Kansas
Cowley County
This Rock is located in Cowley County and lies 864 miles [1,390.5 km]<2> to the west of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cowley County community of Rock.
Republic 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 Kansas community of Rock [Republic County].
Kentucky
Graves 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 Kentucky community of Rock [Graves County].
Louisiana
Grant Parish
This Rock is located in Grant Parish and lies 766 miles [1,232.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant Parish community of Rock.
Rapides Parish
This Rock is located in Rapides Parish and lies 772 miles [1,242.4 km] to the west southwest of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rapides Parish community of Rock.
Sabine Parish
This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Rock [Sabine Parish].
Maryland
Cecil County
This Rock is located in Cecil County and lies 315 miles [506.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cecil County community of Rock.
Massachusetts
Plymouth County
This Rock is located in Plymouth County and lies 631 miles [1,015.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Plymouth County community of Rock.
Michigan
Delta County
This Rock is located in Delta County and lies 673 miles [1,083.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delta County community of Rock.
Minnesota
Redwood 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 Minnesota community of Rock [Redwood County].
Mississippi
Alcorn 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 Mississippi community of Rock [Alcorn County].
Missouri
Vernon County
This Rock is located in Vernon County and lies 726 miles [1,168.4 km]<2> to the west of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vernon County community of Rock.
Ohio
Tuscarawas County
This Rock is located in Tuscarawas County and lies 202 miles [325.1 km]<2> to the north of the Rock that is located in Mercer County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscarawas County community of Rock.
Pennsylvania
Schuylkill 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 Pennsylvania community of Rock [Schuylkill County].
South Carolina
Pickens 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 South Carolina community of Rock [Pickens County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near 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.
Abbs Valley ‑ Historic (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbs Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coaldale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Flipping. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
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 Rock to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rock and extending to:
Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 71 miles [114.3 km]<2> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Rock to Charleston, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 4 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 250 miles [402.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,140 miles [9,881.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,849 miles [11,022.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,726 miles [7,605.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rock) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3679, Longitude: -81.2220 In this case, the coordinates for 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 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>
An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 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 310.431 degrees.
<9>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.105 degrees.
<10>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.002 degrees.