Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bluefield, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bluefield and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bluefield
- 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 Bluefield:
- 37.267069, -81.221927
- 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 Bluefield
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Bluefield is near Tazewell County and also Bland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell 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 Bluefield ...
We found four communities that share the name Bluefield.
Within West Virginia, the name Bluefield is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bluefield ...
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.
- Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbs Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County
- Billie ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Bluestone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Brush Fork
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brush Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Fork
- Brush Fork is located in Mercer County
- Coopers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Coopers is located in Mercer County
- Edison
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Edison is located in Mercer County
- Falls Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Flipping
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Freeman is located in Mercer County
- Green Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Mercer County
- Hales Bottom
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hales Bottom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Bottom
- Hales Bottom is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Littlesburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Maple View
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple View
- Maple View is located in Mercer County
- Pocahontas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Rock is located in Mercer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock <3>
- Rocky Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
- Sam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Sandlick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Yards
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Maple View
How Far From Bluefield 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 Bluefield to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bluefield and extending to:
- Princeton, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bluefield to Princeton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 253 miles [407.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,145 miles [9,889.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,853 miles [11,028.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,730 miles [7,612.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bluefield: www.ci.bluefield.wv.us/
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.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- Bluefield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bluefield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2671, Longitude: -81.2219 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Bluefield 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 310.432 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.092 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.034 degrees. |