Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alum Wells, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alum Wells and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alum Wells
- 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 Alum Wells:
- 36.757884, -82.183469
- 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 Alum Wells
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Alum Wells is near Russell County and also Bristol City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Russell County
- eBird sighting report for Bristol City
- 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 Alum Wells ...
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.
- Bolton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Craigs Mill
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Mill
- Craigs Mill is located in Washington County
- Hobbs Ford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobbs Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbs Ford
- Hobbs Ford is located in Washington County
- Leonard
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Lone Star
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Masons Store ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masons Store have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masons Store
- Masons Store is located in Russell County
- Parsonage
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Ravens Nest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravens Nest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravens Nest
- Ravens Nest is located in Washington County
- Rocktown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Rush Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rush Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Corner
- Rush Corner is located in Washington County
- Walnut Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Washington County
- Willow Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Russell County
- Wolfrun ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Alum Wells 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 Alum Wells to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Alum Wells and extending to:
- Abingdon, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alum Wells to Abingdon, with an average speed<3> 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.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 266 miles [428.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 317 miles [510.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,917 miles [11,131.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,793 miles [7,713.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alum Wells. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.washcova.com/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alum Wells) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alum Wells. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7579, Longitude: -82.1835 In this case, the coordinates for Alum Wells 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 Alum Wells 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 311.01 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.678 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.589 degrees. |