Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alka
- 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 Alka:
- 37.031215, -82.474041
- 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 Alka
- 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 Dickenson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dickenson County
- Since Alka is near Wise County and also Norton City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wise County
- eBird sighting report for Norton City
- 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 Alka ...
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.
- Bondtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Cranes Nest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranes Nest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranes Nest
- Cranes Nest is located in Wise County
- Darwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County
- Flat Top
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Herald
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Herald is located in Dickenson County
- Hurricane
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Ibex ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Lanes Store
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lanes Store have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanes Store
- Lanes Store is located in Wise County
- Lyons
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Round Top
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Toms Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toms Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms Creek
- Toms Creek is located in Wise County
How Far From Alka 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 Alka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Alka once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alka and extending to:
- Clintwood, which is the Seat of Dickenson County, lies just to the North.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 279 miles [449 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Alka to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 322 miles [518.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,919 miles [11,135.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,794 miles [7,715.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Dickenson County: www.dickensonctyva.com/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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> | 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 Alka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0312, Longitude: -82.4740 In this case, the coordinates for Alka 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 Alka 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 311.184 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.917 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.629 degrees. |