RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Fork, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Fork 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 Big Fork:
    • 36.671532, -78.212774
    • 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 Big Fork
  • 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

Communities Also Named Big Fork ...

We found three communities that share the name Big Fork.

Within Virginia, the name Big Fork is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, .

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Polk County
      • This Big Fork is located in Polk County and lies 896 miles [1,442 km]<1> to the west of the Big Fork that is located in Mecklenburg County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Big Fork.
    • Kentucky
      • Leslie County
      • This Big Fork is located in Leslie County and lies 279 miles [449 km]<1> to the west of the Big Fork that is located in Mecklenburg County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leslie County community of Big Fork.
    • Ontario
      • This Big Fork lies 1,130 miles [1,818.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Big Fork that is located in Mecklenburg County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Fork ...

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.

  • Antlers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antlers have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antlers
    • Antlers is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Baskerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baskerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baskerville
    • Baskerville is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Busy Bee Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Busy Bee Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Bee Corner
    • Busy Bee Corner is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Cedar Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Cedar Grove is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Dockery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dockery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dockery
    • Dockery is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Elamtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elamtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamtown
    • Elamtown is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Gills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gills
    • Gills is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Gordon Corner
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon Corner
    • Gordon Corner is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Redlawn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redlawn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redlawn
    • Redlawn is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Roberts Ferry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roberts Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts Ferry
    • Roberts Ferry is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Union Level
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Level
    • Union Level is located in Mecklenburg County

How Far From Big Fork 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 Big Fork to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Boydton, which is the Seat of Mecklenburg County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Big Fork to Boydton, 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 73 miles [117.5 km] to the northeast (NE). 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 166 miles [267.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,043 miles [9,725.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,741 miles [10,848.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,621 miles [7,436.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Fork. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Fork) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Fork. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6715, Longitude: -78.2128       In this case, the coordinates for Big Fork have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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.
<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 Big Fork 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 308.682 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.004 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.006 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024