Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Hill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Hill and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Hill
- 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 Van Hill:
- 36.388710, -82.813215
- 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 Van Hill
- 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 Hawkins County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hawkins County
- Since Van Hill is near Greene County and also Sullivan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Greene County
- eBird sighting report for Sullivan 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 Van Hill ...
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.
- Blossom
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Butcher ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Chimneytop ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimneytop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimneytop
- Chimneytop is located in Hawkins County
- Christian Bend
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christian Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Bend
- Christian Bend is located in Hawkins County
- Craft Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craft Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craft Spring
- Craft Spring is located in Greene County
- Enterprise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Hawkins County
- Holland Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland Mill
- Holland Mill is located in Greene County
- Honeycutt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Locust Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Springs
- Locust Springs is located in Greene County
- Longs Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longs Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longs Bend
- Longs Bend is located in Hawkins County
- Lyons Store ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons Store have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons Store
- Lyons Store is located in Hawkins County
- Mole
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Continue List (7 more) ...
- Mount Hope ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Greene County
- Roaring Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Springs
- Roaring Springs is located in Greene County
- Stacy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Stony Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Stony Point is located in Hawkins County
- Union Temple
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Temple have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Temple
- Union Temple is located in Greene County
- Woodlawn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Zion Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Hope ‑ Historic
How Far From Van Hill 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 Van Hill to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Van Hill and extending to:
- Rogersville, which is the Seat of Hawkins County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Van Hill to Rogersville, with an average speed<3> 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.
- Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 221 miles [355.7 km] to the west (W). 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 360 miles [579.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,251 miles [10,060 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,960 miles [11,201 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,836 miles [7,782.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Hill. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Van Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.3887, Longitude: -82.8132 In this case, the coordinates for Van Hill 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 Van Hill 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 311.385 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.055 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.958 degrees. |