Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Champlain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Champlain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Champlain
- 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 Champlain:
- 38.013468, -76.992748
- 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 Champlain
- 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 Essex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Essex County
- Since Champlain is near Caroline County and also Richmond County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Caroline County
- eBird sighting report for Richmond 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 Champlain ...
We found four communities that share the name Champlain.
Within Virginia, the name Champlain is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, one is located in the United States and the other five communities are located in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New Brunswick
- This Champlain lies 706 miles [1,136.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Champlain that is located in Essex County.
- New York
- Ontario
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Quebec
- New Brunswick
Curious and Interesting Names Near Champlain ...
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.
- Battery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Central Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Point
- Central Point is located in Caroline County
- Chance
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Farmers Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Fork
- Farmers Fork is located in Essex County
- Germans Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Germans Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germans Corner
- Germans Corner is located in Richmond County
- Hustle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Iraville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Jenkins Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jenkins Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins Landing
- Jenkins Landing is located in Essex County
- Lloyds
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Lukes Island ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lukes Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lukes Island
- Lukes Island is located in Richmond County
- Mount Pleasant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Essex County
- Newland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Oak Row
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Pigeon Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pigeon Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Hill
- Pigeon Hill is located in Essex County
How Far From Champlain 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 Champlain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Champlain and extending to:
- Tappahannock, which is the Seat of Essex County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Champlain to Tappahannock, 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 40 miles [64.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 61 miles [98.2 km] to the north (N). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,933 miles [9,548.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,634 miles [10,676.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,512 miles [7,261.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Champlain. 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 '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- Champlain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Champlain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0135, Longitude: -76.9927 In this case, the coordinates for Champlain 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 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 Champlain 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 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 Champlain to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.916 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.334 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.032 degrees. |