RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> McDowell County >> Rockridge >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
West Virginia


The Commemorative Quarter for West Virginia







Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Rockridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockridge and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Rockridge:
    • 37.376779, -81.826782
    • 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 Rockridge
  • 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 Rockridge ...

We found two communities that share the name Rockridge.

Within West Virginia, the name Rockridge is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Alameda County
      • This Rockridge is located in Alameda County and lies 2,193 miles [3,529.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rockridge that is located in McDowell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alameda County community of Rockridge.
    • Georgia
      • Heard County
      • This Rockridge is located in Heard County and lies 337 miles [542.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rockridge that is located in McDowell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Heard County community of Rockridge.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockridge ...

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.

  • Apple Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
    • Apple Grove is located in McDowell County
  • Beartown
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beartown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
    • Beartown is located in McDowell County
  • Dan
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dan
    • Dan is located in McDowell County
  • English
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for English have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
    • English is located in McDowell County
  • Erin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
    • Erin is located in McDowell County
  • Height
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Height. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
    • Height is located in Buchanan County (VA)
  • Hull
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hull have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
    • Hull is located in McDowell County
  • Johnnycake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnnycake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnnycake
    • Johnnycake is located in McDowell County
  • Panther
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
    • Panther is located in McDowell County
  • Peapatch
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peapatch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
    • Peapatch is located in Buchanan County (VA)
  • Sandy Huff
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Huff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Huff
    • Sandy Huff is located in McDowell County
  • Slate
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate
    • Slate is located in Buchanan County (VA)
  • Union City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
    • Union City is located in McDowell County

How Far From Rockridge 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 community such as Rockridge to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rockridge and extending to:

  • Welch, which is the Seat of McDowell County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rockridge to Welch, with an average speed<4> 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.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 67 miles [107.8 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 280 miles [450.6 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,165 miles [9,921.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,876 miles [11,065.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,752 miles [7,647.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rockridge. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3768, Longitude: -81.8268       In this case, the coordinates for Rockridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Rockridge 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 310.793 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.52 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.253 degrees.









 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024