RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
Quarter for
Virginia

The Commemorative Quarter for Virginia





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Colchester, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Colchester 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 Colchester:
    • 38.668728, -77.234149
    • 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 Colchester
  • 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 Colchester ...

We found five communities that share the name Colchester.

Within Virginia, the name Colchester is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Illinois
      • McDonough County
      • This Colchester is located in McDonough County and lies 731 miles [1,176.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Colchester that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the McDonough County community of Colchester.
    • New York
      • Delaware County
      • This Colchester is located in Delaware County and lies 266 miles [428.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Colchester that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delaware County community of Colchester.
    • Ontario
      • This Colchester lies 377 miles [606.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Colchester that is located in Fairfax County.
    • Vermont
      • Chittenden County
      • This Colchester is located in Chittenden County and lies 457 miles [735.5 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Colchester that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chittenden County community of Colchester.
    • Washington
      • Kitsap County
      • This Colchester is located in Kitsap County and lies 2,329 miles [3,748.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Colchester that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kitsap County community of Colchester.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Colchester ...

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.

  • Cloverdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Cloverdale is located in Prince William County
  • Dale City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dale City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale City
    • Dale City is located in Prince William County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dale City <3>
  • Featherstone
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Featherstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Featherstone
    • Featherstone is located in Prince William County
  • Forestdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
    • Forestdale is located in Prince William County
  • Harbor View
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
    • Harbor View is located in Fairfax County
  • Hillendale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillendale
    • Hillendale is located in Prince William County
  • Indian Head
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Head have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Indian Head is located in Charles County (MD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,787 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian Head <3>
  • Kerrydale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kerrydale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrydale
    • Kerrydale is located in Prince William County
  • Perry Wright
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry Wright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry Wright
    • Perry Wright is located in Charles County (MD)
  • Raceway Farms
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raceway Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raceway Farms
    • Raceway Farms is located in Fairfax County
  • Rollingwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rollingwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
    • Rollingwood is located in Fairfax County
  • Woodlawn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodlawn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Woodlawn is located in Fairfax County
  • Yacht Haven
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yacht Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yacht Haven
    • Yacht Haven is located in Fairfax County

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 78 miles [125.5 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Colchester to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 19 miles [30.6 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take 6 hours and walking would take just over a day.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,916 miles [9,520.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,620 miles [10,653.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,497 miles [7,237.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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

The official website for Fairfax County: www.co.fairfax.va.us/

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Colchester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colchester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6687, Longitude: -77.2341       In this case, the coordinates for Colchester 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'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 Colchester 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 308.02 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.552 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.884 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024