RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Montgomery County >> Blackrock Mill >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Blackrock Mill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blackrock Mill 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 Blackrock Mill:
    • 39.126774, -77.314151
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Blackrock Mill
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Blackrock Mill is near Loudoun County and also Fairfax County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Loudoun County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Blackrock Mill

Curious and Interesting Names Near Blackrock Mill ...

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.

  • Ancient Oak
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ancient Oak is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oak
  • Dawsonville
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Dawsonville is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Harvest Hunt Farm
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Harvest Hunt Farm is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvest Hunt Farm
  • Kingsview Knolls
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingsview Knolls is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsview Knolls
  • Lees Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lees Corner is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Corner
  • Liberty Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty Heights is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Heights
  • Longdraft
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Longdraft is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longdraft
  • Mitchells Range
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Mitchells Range is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchells Range
  • Pioneer Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Pioneer Hills is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Hills
  • Pleasant Fields
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Fields is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Fields
  • Potomac Chase
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Potomac Chase is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac Chase
  • Quail Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Quail Run is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Riverwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Riverwood is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
    • Rushville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Rushville is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
    • Spring Meadows
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Spring Meadows is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadows
    • Willow Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Willow Ridge is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Ridge

How Far From Blackrock Mill to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Blackrock Mill to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Blackrock Mill and extending to:

  • Rockville, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Blackrock Mill to Rockville, with an average speed<2> 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.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 45 miles [72.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,899 miles [9,493.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,606 miles [10,631.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,483 miles [7,214.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Blackrock Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Blackrock Mill to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blackrock Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1268, Longitude: -77.3142       In this case, the coordinates for Blackrock Mill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.039 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.644 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.743 degrees.