Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Big Hill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Hill and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Big 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 Big Hill:
- 36.649562, -81.637338
- 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 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Big Hill is near Smyth County and also Grayson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Smyth County
- eBird sighting report for Grayson 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
Communities Also Named Big Hill ...
We found eight communities that share the name Big Hill.
Within Virginia, the name Big Hill is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Labette County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Big Hill [Labette County].
- Montgomery County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Big Hill [Montgomery County].
- Kentucky
- Nova Scotia
- This Big Hill lies 1,264 miles [2,034.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Big Hill that is located in Washington County.
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Big 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.
- Apple Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Creek Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek Junction
- Creek Junction is located in Washington County
- Damascus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Damascus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Damascus is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Damascus <4>
- Dry Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Flatwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Friendship
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Green Cove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Green Cove is located in Washington County
- Laurel Bloomery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Bloomery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bloomery
- Laurel Bloomery is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurel Bloomery <4>
- Listening Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Listening Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listening Rock
- Listening Rock is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Loves Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loves Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Masada
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Stony Battery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Battery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Battery
- Stony Battery is located in Smyth County
- Sugar Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sugar Creek is located in Johnson County (TN)
How Far From Big Hill 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 Big Hill to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Big Hill and extending to:
- Abingdon, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Big Hill to Abingdon, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 239 miles [384.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 295 miles [474.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,190 miles [9,961.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,897 miles [11,099.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,774 miles [7,683 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Hill. 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Big Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6496, Longitude: -81.6373 In this case, the coordinates for Big Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Big Hill could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Hill to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.685 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.29 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.396 degrees. |