Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Big Stone Gap, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Stone Gap and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Big Stone Gap
- 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 Big Stone Gap:
- 36.869699, -82.774136
- 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 Big Stone Gap
- 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 Wise County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wise County
- Since Big Stone Gap is near Lee County and also Scott County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lee County
- eBird sighting report for Scott 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 Big Stone Gap ...
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.
- Canepatch ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Cracker Neck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cracker Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cracker Neck
- Cracker Neck is located in Wise County
- Derby
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - East Stone Gap
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Stone Gap
- East Stone Gap is located in Wise County
- Harper
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Harvey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Irondale
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Kent Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Junction
- Kent Junction is located in Wise County
- Mohawk ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Roundstone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roundstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roundstone
- Roundstone is located in Wise County
- Seminary
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Big Stone Gap 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 town such as Big Stone Gap to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Big Stone Gap and extending to:
- Wise, which is the Seat of Wise County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Big Stone Gap to Wise, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 297 miles [478 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 342 miles [550.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,227 miles [10,021.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,938 miles [11,165.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,814 miles [7,747.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Big Stone Gap: www.bigstonegap.org/
The official website for Wise County: www.wisecounty.org/
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Big Stone Gap) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Stone Gap. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8697, Longitude: -82.7741 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Big Stone Gap to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.364 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.10 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.803 degrees. |