Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Topia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Topia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Topia
- 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 Topia:
- 36.515784, -81.317597
- 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 Topia
- 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 Alleghany County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
- Since Topia is near Ashe County and also Grayson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ashe County
- eBird sighting report for Grayson 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 Topia ...
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.
- Chestnut Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Chestnut Hill is located in Ashe County
- Crumpler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crumpler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumpler
- Crumpler is located in Ashe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crumpler <2>
- Fox
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Grassy Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grassy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
- Grassy Creek is located in Ashe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grassy Creek <2>
- Kings Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Kings Creek is located in Alleghany County
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouth-of-Wilson
- Mouth-of-Wilson is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mouth-of-Wilson <2>
- Nathans Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nathans Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nathans Creek
- Nathans Creek is located in Ashe County
- Ore Knob
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Pine Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Piney Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Creek
- Piney Creek is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piney Creek <2>
- Weavers Ford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County
How Far From Topia 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 Topia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Topia and extending to:
- Sparta, which is the Seat of Alleghany County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Topia to Sparta, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 157 miles [252.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 285 miles [458.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,183 miles [9,950.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,888 miles [11,085.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,765 miles [7,668.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Topia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Topia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Topia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5158, Longitude: -81.3176 |
| <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 Topia 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 310.496 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.055 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.306 degrees. |