Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Decatur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Decatur and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Decatur
- 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 Decatur:
- 37.876521, -79.335591
- 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 Decatur
- 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 Rockbridge County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rockbridge County
- Since Decatur is near Augusta County and also Lexington City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Augusta County
- eBird sighting report for Lexington City
- 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 Decatur ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Decatur.
There is one other community in Virginia which is also named Decatur.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Virginia ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Cape Girardeau County
- This Decatur is located in Cape Girardeau County and lies 558 miles [898 km]<2> to the west of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cape Girardeau County community of Decatur.
- Cole County
- This Decatur is located in Cole County and lies 710 miles [1,142.6 km] to the west of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cole County community of Decatur.
- Nebraska
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Decatur ...
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 Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cedar Grove is located in Rockbridge County
- Cornwall
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Crossroads Store
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crossroads Store have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads Store
- Crossroads Store is located in Rockbridge County
- Fredericksburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Fredericksburg is located in Rockbridge County
- Irish Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irish Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Creek
- Irish Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jonestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Mountain View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Rockbridge County
- Spottswood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Stony Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Timber Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
- Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
- Vesuvius
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vesuvius have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesuvius
- Vesuvius is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vesuvius <5>
- Zack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
How Far From Decatur 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 community such as Decatur to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Decatur and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 106 miles [170.6 km]<2> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Decatur to Richmond, with an average speed<6>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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 143 miles [230.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,039 miles [9,718.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,745 miles [10,855 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,622 miles [7,438.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Decatur. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rockbridge County: www.co.rockbridge.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Decatur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Decatur) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Decatur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8765, Longitude: -79.3356 In this case, the coordinates for Decatur have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Decatur 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. |
| <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 Decatur 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 309.297 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.886 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.047 degrees. |