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 Carfax, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Carfax 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 Carfax:
    • 36.890659, -82.377646
    • 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 Carfax
  • 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Carfax ...

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.

  • Boody
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boody have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boody
    • Boody is located in Russell County
  • Crab Orchard
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
    • Crab Orchard is located in Wise County
  • Dry Fork
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Fork
    • Dry Fork is located in Wise County
  • Flatwoods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flatwoods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
    • Flatwoods is located in Wise County
  • Lonesome ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lonesome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonesome
    • Lonesome is located in Wise County
  • Maytown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maytown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
    • Maytown is located in Wise County
  • Mew
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mew have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mew
    • Mew is located in Russell County
  • Rural
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rural have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
    • Rural is located in Wise County
  • Stony
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony
    • Stony is located in Scott County
  • Sunny Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunny Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Point
    • Sunny Point is located in Russell County
  • Temple Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temple Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
    • Temple Hill is located in Russell County
  • Virginia City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
    • Virginia City is located in Wise County

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Carfax and extending to:

  • Wise, which is the Seat of Wise County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Carfax to Wise, with an average speed<3> 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 275 miles [442.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 322 miles [518.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,210 miles [9,994 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,920 miles [11,136.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,796 miles [7,718.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>

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

The official website for Wise County: www.wisecounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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- Carfax) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Carfax. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8907, Longitude: -82.3776       In this case, the coordinates for Carfax have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Carfax 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 311.126 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.83 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.631 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025