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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 Blue Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Ridge 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 Blue Ridge:
- 37.378469, -79.806983
- 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 Blue Ridge
- 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 Botetourt County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Botetourt County
- Since Blue Ridge is near Bedford County and also Roanoke County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Roanoke 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 Blue Ridge
Communities Also Named Blue Ridge ...
We found nineteen communities that are also named Blue Ridge.
There is one other community in Virginia that is also named Blue Ridge.
Beyond Virginia, we know of eighteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, eighteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Virginia ...
- Augusta County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Blue Ridge [Augusta County].
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Elmore County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Elmore County and lies 494 miles [795 km]<2> to the southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elmore County community of Blue Ridge.
- Alberta
- This Blue Ridge lies 2,034 miles [3,273.4 km]<2> to the northwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- Georgia
- Fannin County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Fannin County and lies 305 miles [490.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fannin County community of Blue Ridge.
- Illinois
- Piatt County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Piatt County and lies 507 miles [815.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Piatt County community of Blue Ridge.
- Indiana
- Shelby County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Shelby County and lies 348 miles [560.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Blue Ridge.
- Mississippi
- Jasper County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Jasper County and lies 651 miles [1,047.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Blue Ridge.
- Missouri
- Harrison County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Harrison County and lies 783 miles [1,260.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harrison County community of Blue Ridge.
- New York
- Essex County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Essex County and lies 552 miles [888.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Essex County community of Blue Ridge.
- North Carolina
- Buncombe County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Blue Ridge [Buncombe County].
- Henderson County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County and lies 199 miles [320.3 km]<2> to the southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henderson County community of Blue Ridge.
- Transylvania 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 North Carolina community of Blue Ridge [Transylvania County].
- Pennsylvania
- Bucks County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Bucks County and lies 326 miles [524.6 km]<2> to the northeast of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bucks County community of Blue Ridge.
- Franklin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Blue Ridge [Franklin County].
- South Carolina
- Greenville County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Greenville County and lies 213 miles [342.8 km]<2> to the southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Blue Ridge.
- Tennessee
- Sullivan County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Sullivan County and lies 144 miles [231.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Blue Ridge.
- Texas
- Collin County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Collin County and lies 974 miles [1,567.5 km]<2> to the west of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collin County community of Blue Ridge.
- Falls County
- This Blue Ridge is located in Falls County and lies 1,051 miles [1,691.4 km] to the west southwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Falls County community of Blue Ridge.
- Washington
- King County
- This Blue Ridge is located in King County and lies 2,247 miles [3,616.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Blue Ridge that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Blue Ridge.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blue Ridge ...
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.
- Amsterdam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Colonial Trail
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colonial Trail is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Trail
- Daleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Falling Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Falling Creek is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Creek
- Heatherstone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Heatherstone is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherstone
- Huntridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Huntridge is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntridge
- Laymantown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Lynchburg Mines ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lynchburg Mines is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg Mines
- Muse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Muse is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muse
- Peachtree
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Peachtree is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peachtree
- Rainbow Forest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rainbow Forest is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Forest
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Runaway Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
- Shady Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Grove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Stepping Stone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stepping Stone is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stepping Stone
- Troutville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Waterfall Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Waterfall Lake is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterfall Lake
How Far From Blue Ridge 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 Blue Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Blue Ridge and extending to:
- Fincastle, which is the Seat of Botetourt County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Blue Ridge to Fincastle, with an average speed<4> 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 130 miles [209.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 183 miles [294.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,080 miles [9,784.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,786 miles [10,921 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,663 miles [7,504.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Blue Ridge 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. |
| <2> | 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- Blue Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Blue Ridge 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 Blue Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3785, Longitude: -79.8070 In this case, the coordinates for Blue Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.59 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.146 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.411 degrees. |
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