Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Virginia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Virginia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Virginia
- 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 Virginia:
- 42.494084, -112.165520
- 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 Virginia
- 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 Bannock County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bannock County
- Since Virginia is near Oneida County and also Caribou County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Oneida County
- eBird sighting report for Caribou 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 Virginia ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Virginia.
Within Idaho, the name Virginia is unique.
Beyond Idaho, we know of another seventeen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seventeen communities, sixteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- California
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Rock 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 Minnesota community of Virginia [Rock County].
- Saint Louis County
- This Virginia is located in Saint Louis County and lies 1,015 miles [1,633.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Virginia that is located in Bannock County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Virginia.
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Ontario
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Dewey County
- This Virginia is located in Dewey County and lies 607 miles [976.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Virginia that is located in Bannock County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dewey County community of Virginia.
- Lawrence 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 South Dakota community of Virginia [Lawrence County].
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Brooke 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 West Virginia community of Virginia [Brooke County].
- Mineral 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 West Virginia community of Virginia [Mineral County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Virginia ...
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.
- Dairy Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dairy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dairy Creek
- Dairy Creek is located in Oneida County
- Daniels
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest) - Lava Hot Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lava Hot Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava Hot Springs
- Lava Hot Springs is located in Bannock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lava Hot Springs <5>
- Marsh Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marsh Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Valley
- Marsh Valley is located in Bannock County
- Red Rock Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Rock Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock Junction
- Red Rock Junction is located in Bannock County
- Robin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robin
- Robin is located in Bannock County
- Swanlake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanlake
- Swanlake is located in Bannock County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swanlake <5>
- Topaz ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Virginia 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 Virginia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Virginia and extending to:
- Pocatello, which is the Seat of Bannock County, lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Virginia to Pocatello, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Boise City, which is the State Capital of Idaho, lies 217 miles [349.2 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,842 miles [2,964.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 72 days and walking would take 105 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,899 miles [11,102.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,668 miles [12,340.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,661 miles [9,110.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Virginia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Bannock County: www.co.bannock.id.us/
The official website for State of Idaho: www.state.id.us/
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- Virginia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Virginia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4941, Longitude: -112.1655 In this case, the coordinates for Virginia have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Virginia 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. |
| <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 Virginia, 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 Virginia 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 332.293 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 332.067 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.79 degrees. |