Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ruffin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruffin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ruffin
- 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 Ruffin:
- 36.447289, -79.544795
- 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 Ruffin
- 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 Rockingham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rockingham County
- Since Ruffin is near Caswell County and also Pittsylvania County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Caswell County
- eBird sighting report for Pittsylvania 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 Ruffin ...
We found three communities that share the name Ruffin.
Within North Carolina, the name Ruffin is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- South Carolina
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruffin ...
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.
- Berry Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Hill
- Berry Hill is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Cedar Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Park
- Cedar Park is located in Danville City (VA)
- Cedar Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Ridge
- Cedar Ridge is located in Rockingham County
- Dan River ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Forestdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestdale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Forestdale is located in Rockingham County
- Green Acres
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Rockingham County
- Happy Home
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Home have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Home
- Happy Home is located in Rockingham County
- Hickory Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Rockingham County
- Jones
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Leaksville Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaksville Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville Junction
- Leaksville Junction is located in Pittsylvania County (VA)
- Locust Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Park Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Spring
- Park Spring is located in Caswell County
- Quick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Stokesland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stokesland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokesland
- Stokesland is located in Danville City (VA)
- Village Oaks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Oaks
- Village Oaks is located in Rockingham County
- Leaksville Junction
How Far From Ruffin 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 Ruffin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ruffin and extending to:
- Wentworth, which is the Seat of Rockingham County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ruffin to Wentworth, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 68 miles [109.4 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 217 miles [349.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,110 miles [9,833.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,811 miles [10,961.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,689 miles [7,546.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ruffin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rockingham County: www.co.rockingham.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Ruffin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Ruffin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruffin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4473, Longitude: -79.5448 |
| <3> | 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 Ruffin 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. |
| <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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Ruffin to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.458 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.858 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.611 degrees. |