RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Appomattox County >> Bent Creek >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Bent Creek:
    • 37.535137, -78.827004
    • 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 Bent Creek
  • 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 Appomattox County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Appomattox County
    • Since Bent Creek is near Nelson County and also Buckingham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nelson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Buckingham 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Bent Creek

Communities Also Named Bent Creek ...

We found three communities that are also named Bent Creek.

Within Virginia, the name Bent Creek is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Lee County
      • This Bent Creek is located in Lee County and lies 504 miles [811.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Bent Creek that is located in Appomattox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Bent Creek.
    • North Carolina
      • Buncombe County
      • This Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County and lies 252 miles [405.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Bent Creek that is located in Appomattox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buncombe County community of Bent Creek.
      • Yancey County
      • This Bent Creek is located in Yancey County and lies 223 miles [358.9 km] to the west southwest of the Bent Creek that is located in Appomattox County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yancey County community of Bent Creek.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bent Creek ...

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.

  • Buffalo Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Five Forks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Five Forks is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
  • Four Forks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Four Forks is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Forks
  • Greenway
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Greenway is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
  • Mineral ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
  • Red Apple Orchard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Red Apple Orchard is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple Orchard
  • Sliders
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sliders is located in Buckingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sliders
  • Stonewall
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stonewall is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
  • Stonewall Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Stonewall Mills is located in Appomattox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall Mills
  • Toga
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Union Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Union Hill is located in Amherst County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Woods Corner
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Woods Corner is located in Buckingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Corner

How Far From Bent Creek 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 Bent Creek to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Appomattox, which is the Seat of Appomattox County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Bent Creek to Appomattox, with an average speed<2> 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 76 miles [122.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 135 miles [217.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,032 miles [9,707.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,736 miles [10,840.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,613 miles [7,423.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Bent Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Bent Creek 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 Bent Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5351, Longitude: -78.8270       In this case, the coordinates for Bent Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.009 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.507 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.955 degrees.