Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy).
When in Roanoke, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Roanoke and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Roanoke
- 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 Roanoke:
- 37.271824, -79.942414
- 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 Roanoke
- 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 Roanoke ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Roanoke.
Within Virginia, the name Roanoke is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Ben Hill County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Roanoke [Ben Hill County].
- Stewart 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 Georgia community of Roanoke [Stewart County].
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Hamilton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Roanoke [Hamilton County].
- Meade 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 Kansas community of Roanoke [Meade County].
- Stanton County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Stanton County, we don't know where within the .
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stanton County community of Roanoke.
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Roanoke ...
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.
- Bluestone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Cedar Bluff
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Cedar Bluff is located in Roanoke City
- Chestnut Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hills
- Chestnut Hills is located in Roanoke City
- Crystal Spring
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Crystal Spring is located in Roanoke City
- Eden Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Forest Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
- Forest Park is located in Roanoke City
- Garden City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Grove Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
- Grove Park is located in Roanoke City
- Heritage Acres
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Acres
- Heritage Acres is located in Roanoke City
- Jamestown Place
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamestown Place have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown Place
- Jamestown Place is located in Roanoke City
- Janette Land
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Janette Land have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janette Land
- Janette Land is located in Roanoke City
- Lemon Dell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lemon Dell have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Dell
- Lemon Dell is located in Roanoke City
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Liberty Land
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Land have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Land
- Liberty Land is located in Roanoke City
- Lilly View
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lilly View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly View
- Lilly View is located in Roanoke City
- Lincoln Court
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Court have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Court
- Lincoln Court is located in Roanoke City
- Meadowland
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowland
- Meadowland is located in Roanoke City
- Mountain View
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- 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 Roanoke City
- Peakwood Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peakwood Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peakwood Hills
- Peakwood Hills is located in Roanoke City
- Rockydale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Round Hill Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Hill Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Hill Park
- Round Hill Park is located in Roanoke City
- Rugby
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Shadeland
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Sunrise Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Heights
- Sunrise Heights is located in Roanoke City
- Virginia Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Heights
- Virginia Heights is located in Roanoke City
- Wildwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Yellowstone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yellowstone have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellowstone
- Yellowstone is located in Roanoke City
- Liberty Land
How Far From Roanoke to ...
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 city such as Roanoke to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Roanoke and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 138 miles [222.1 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Roanoke to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 193 miles [310.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,091 miles [9,802.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,796 miles [10,937.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,673 miles [7,520.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Roanoke: www.roanokeva.gov/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Roanoke) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Roanoke. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2718, Longitude: -79.9424 |
| <2> | 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 Roanoke 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 . 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. |
| <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 Roanoke, 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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Roanoke to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.673 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.225 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.502 degrees. |