Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Atkins, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atkins and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Atkins
- 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 Atkins:
- 36.867339, -81.423443
- 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 Atkins
- 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 Smyth County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Smyth County
- Since Atkins is near Wythe County and also Bland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wythe County
- eBird sighting report for Bland 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 Atkins ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Atkins.
Within Virginia, the name Atkins is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nebraska
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Henderson County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Atkins [Henderson County].
- Stewart County
- This Atkins is located in Stewart County and lies 349 miles [561.7 km]<1> to the west of the Atkins that is located in Smyth County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stewart County community of Atkins.
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Atkins ...
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.
- Beaver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Cedar Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Smyth County
- Ellendale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Ellendale Ford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellendale Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale Ford
- Ellendale Ford is located in Smyth County
- Furnace Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furnace Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Furnace Hill is located in Smyth County
- Marion
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Smyth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,555 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <5>
- Ridgedale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Roberts Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roberts Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts Mill
- Roberts Mill is located in Smyth County
- Rural Retreat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Retreat
- Rural Retreat is located in Wythe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,448 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rural Retreat <5>
- Shady Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Smyth County
- Slabtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Sugar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
How Far From Atkins 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 Atkins to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Atkins and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of Smyth County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 224 miles [360.5 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Atkins to Richmond, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 277 miles [445.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,171 miles [9,931.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,879 miles [11,070.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,755 miles [7,652.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Atkins. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Smyth County: www.smythcounty.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
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 from Point A (ie- Atkins) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atkins. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8673, Longitude: -81.4234 In this case, the coordinates for Atkins have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Atkins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Atkins 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. |
| <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 Atkins 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 310.556 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.175 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.242 degrees. |