RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Gloucester County >> Bena >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Bena, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bena and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Bena:
    • 37.270976, -76.455504
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Bena
  • 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 Gloucester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gloucester County
    • Since Bena is near York County and also Newport News City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Newport News 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Bena

Communities Also Named Bena ...

We found two communities that are also named Bena.

Within Virginia, the name Bena is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Kern County
      • This Bena is located in Kern County and lies 2,337 miles [3,761 km]<1> to the west of the Bena that is located in Gloucester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Bena.
    • Minnesota
      • Cass County
      • This Bena is located in Cass County and lies 1,137 miles [1,829.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bena that is located in Gloucester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cass County community of Bena.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bena ...

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.

  • Crab
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Crab is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab
  • Dandy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Dandy is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dandy
  • Harbor Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Harbor Hills is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Hills
  • Harris Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Harris Grove is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Grove
  • Hickory Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory Hill is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
  • Lands End
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lands End is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lands End
  • Marshall Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Marshall Heights is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Heights
  • Ordinary
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Oyster Cove
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Oyster Cove is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Cove
  • Point Lookout
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Point Lookout is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Lookout
  • Quiet Cove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Quiet Cove is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Cove
  • Victory Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Victory Hill is located in Gloucester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Hill

How Far From Bena to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Bena to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bena and extending to:

  • Gloucester, which is the Seat of Gloucester County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bena to Gloucester, 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.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 56 miles [90.1 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 116 miles [186.7 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,941 miles [9,561.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,637 miles [10,681.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,518 miles [7,271 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Bena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Bena to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2710, Longitude: -76.4555       In this case, the coordinates for Bena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.648 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.914 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.094 degrees.