Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downing, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downing and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downing
- 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 Downing:
- 38.879280, -78.175555
- 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 Downing
- 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 Warren County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Warren County
- Since Downing is near Rappahannock County and also Fauquier County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rappahannock County
- eBird sighting report for Fauquier 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 Downing ...
We found sixteen communities that share the name Downing.
Within Virginia, the name Downing is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Escambia 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 Alabama community of Downing [Escambia County].
- Montgomery County
- This Downing is located in Montgomery County and lies 639 miles [1,028.4 km]<2> to the southwest of the Downing that is located in Warren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Downing.
- Colorado
- Florida
- Kansas
- Coffey 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 Downing [Coffey County].
- Morris County
- 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 Kansas community of Downing [Morris County].
- Michigan
- Sanilac 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 Michigan community of Downing [Sanilac County].
- Tuscola County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Downing [Tuscola County].
- Missouri
- New York
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Columbia County
- This Downing is located in Columbia County and lies 2,307 miles [3,712.8 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Downing that is located in Warren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Downing.
- Umatilla County
- This Downing is located in Umatilla County and lies 2,085 miles [3,355.5 km] to the west northwest of the Downing that is located in Warren County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Umatilla County community of Downing.
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downing ...
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.
- Chester Gap
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Gap
- Chester Gap is located in Rappahannock County
- Deer Haven
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Haven
- Deer Haven is located in Warren County
- Front Royal
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Front Royal
- Front Royal is located in Warren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,389 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Front Royal <5>
- Front Royal Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Front Royal Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Front Royal Junction
- Front Royal Junction is located in Warren County
- Glen Echo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Green Hill Forest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Hill Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill Forest
- Green Hill Forest is located in Warren County
- Happy Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Creek
- Happy Creek is located in Warren County
- Heritage
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Joy Spring
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joy Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy Spring
- Joy Spring is located in Warren County
- Merrymount
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrymount have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrymount
- Merrymount is located in Warren County
- Mineral Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Mineral Springs is located in Warren County
- Mountain View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Warren County
- Sea Lock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Woodland Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
- Woodland Park is located in Warren County
How Far From Downing 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 community such as Downing 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 community of Downing once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Downing and extending to:
- Front Royal, which is the Seat of Warren County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 100 miles [160.9 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Downing to Richmond, 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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 61 miles [98.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,946 miles [9,569.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,654 miles [10,708.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,530 miles [7,290.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Warren County: www.warrencountyva.net/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
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 Downing 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Downing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8793, Longitude: -78.1756 In this case, the coordinates for Downing 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 Downing, 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> | 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 Downing 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 308.565 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.204 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.202 degrees. |