Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in The American Village, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The American Village and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for The American Village
- 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 The American Village:
- 36.017087, -78.969454
- 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 The American Village
- 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 Durham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Durham County
- Since The American Village is near Orange County and also Granville County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- eBird sighting report for Granville 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near The American Village ...
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.
- Cedar Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
- Colony Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colony Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony Park
- Colony Park is located in Durham County
- Coventry
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Falls of New Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falls of New Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls of New Hope
- Falls of New Hope is located in Orange County
- Five Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Greymoss
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Havenhill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Heather Glen
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heather Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Glen
- Heather Glen is located in Durham County
- Heritage Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Heights
- Heritage Heights is located in Durham County
- Hickory Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Oaks
- Hickory Oaks is located in Durham County
- Marywood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Piney Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Piney Grove is located in Orange County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Spring Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Durham County
- Suntree
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - University
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- University is located in Orange County
- Weaver
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Whispering Pines
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whispering Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Whispering Pines is located in Orange County
- Willow Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Ridge
- Willow Ridge is located in Orange County
- Spring Valley
How Far From The American Village 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 The American Village to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in The American Village and extending to:
- Durham, which is the Seat of Durham County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from The American Village to Raleigh, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 225 miles [362.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). 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 shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,104 miles [9,823.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,801 miles [10,945.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,681 miles [7,533.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for The American Village. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Durham County: www.co.durham.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- The American Village) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in The American Village. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0171, Longitude: -78.9695 In this case, the coordinates for The American Village have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 The American Village to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.135 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.424 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.524 degrees. |