Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Damascus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Damascus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Damascus
- 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 Damascus:
- 36.632765, -81.788780
- 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 Damascus
- 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 Damascus is near Johnson County and also Sullivan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Johnson County
- eBird sighting report for Sullivan 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 Damascus ...
We found 25 communities that share the name Damascus.
Within Virginia, the name Damascus is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another 24 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 24 communities, 22 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of Damascus, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Coffee County
- This Damascus is located in Coffee County and lies 438 miles [704.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coffee County community of Damascus.
- Cullman County
- This Damascus is located in Cullman County and lies 340 miles [547.2 km] to the west southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cullman County community of Damascus.
- Escambia County
- This Damascus is located in Escambia County and lies 475 miles [764.4 km] to the southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Escambia County community of Damascus.
- Arkansas
- Columbia County
- This Damascus is located in Columbia County and lies 676 miles [1,087.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Damascus.
- Van Buren County
- This Damascus is located in Van Buren County and lies 599 miles [964 km] to the west of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Buren County community of Damascus.
- California
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Early County
- This Damascus is located in Early County and lies 404 miles [650.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Early County community of Damascus.
- Gordon County
- This Damascus is located in Gordon County and lies 227 miles [365.3 km] to the southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gordon County community of Damascus.
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Kemper County
- This Damascus is located in Kemper County and lies 485 miles [780.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kemper County community of Damascus.
- Scott County
- This Damascus is located in Scott County and lies 515 miles [828.8 km] to the west southwest of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Damascus.
- Missouri
- New Brunswick
- This Damascus lies 1,028 miles [1,654.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- New York
- Ohio
- Henry County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Damascus [Henry County].
- Logan County
- This community is historic and although located in Logan County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Logan County community of Damascus.
- Mahoning County
- This Damascus is located in Mahoning County and lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<1> to the north of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mahoning County community of Damascus.
- Ontario
- This Damascus lies 507 miles [815.9 km]<1> to the north of the Damascus that is located in Washington County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Communities Beyond North America ...
- Syria
- - Dimashq
- Distance: 6,156 miles [9,907.1 km]<1> to the northeast
- Syria
Curious and Interesting Names Near Damascus ...
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.
- Cedar Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Cedar Bluff is located in Washington County
- Creek Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek Junction
- Creek Junction is located in Washington County
- Drowning Ford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drowning Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drowning Ford
- Drowning Ford is located in Washington County
- Eureka
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Laurel Bloomery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Bloomery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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 <5>
- Masada
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Mock Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Roetown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Shingletown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Silver Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Sugar Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sugar Creek is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Vails Mill
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vails Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vails Mill
- Vails Mill is located in Washington County
How Far From Damascus 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 town such as Damascus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Damascus and extending to:
- Abingdon, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Damascus to Abingdon, with an average speed<6> 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 247 miles [397.5 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 302 miles [486 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,197 miles [9,973.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,905 miles [11,112.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,781 miles [7,694.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Damascus: www.damascus.org/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Damascus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Damascus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6328, Longitude: -81.7888 In this case, the coordinates for Damascus 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 Damascus 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Damascus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Damascus to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.775 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.391 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.464 degrees. |