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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 Decatur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Decatur 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 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.
- Open 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:
- Open the 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Augusta County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Decatur
Communities Also Named Decatur ...
We found twenty communities that are also named Decatur.
There is one other community in Virginia that is also named Decatur.
Beyond Virginia, we know of nineteen communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Located In Virginia ...
- Stafford County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Decatur [Stafford County].
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Morgan County
- This Decatur is located in Morgan County and lies 482 miles [775.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morgan County community of Decatur.
- Arkansas
- Benton County
- This Decatur is located in Benton County and lies 838 miles [1,348.6 km]<2> to the west of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Decatur.
- Colorado
- Summit County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Summit County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of Decatur.
- Georgia
- DeKalb County
- This Decatur is located in DeKalb County and lies 396 miles [637.3 km]<2> to the southwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeKalb County community of Decatur.
- Illinois
- Macon County
- This Decatur is located in Macon County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Decatur.
- Indiana
- Adams County
- This Decatur is located in Adams County and lies 361 miles [581 km]<2> to the northwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Decatur.
- Iowa
- Decatur County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Decatur [Decatur County].
- Kansas
- Decatur County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Decatur [Decatur County].
- Kentucky
- Russell County
- This Decatur is located in Russell County and lies 314 miles [505.3 km]<2> to the west of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Russell County community of Decatur.
- Michigan
- Van Buren County
- This Decatur is located in Van Buren County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km]<2> to the northwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Buren County community of Decatur.
- Mississippi
- Newton County
- This Decatur is located in Newton County and lies 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Decatur.
- 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
- Burt County
- This Decatur is located in Burt County and lies 937 miles [1,508 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Burt County community of Decatur.
- New York
- Otsego County
- This Decatur is located in Otsego County and lies 408 miles [656.6 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Otsego County community of Decatur.
- Ohio
- Brown County
- This Decatur is located in Brown County and lies 245 miles [394.3 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brown County community of Decatur.
- Pennsylvania
- Mifflin County
- This Decatur is located in Mifflin County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mifflin County community of Decatur.
- Tennessee
- Meigs County
- This Decatur is located in Meigs County and lies 342 miles [550.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Decatur.
- Texas
- Wise County
- This Decatur is located in Wise County and lies 1,072 miles [1,725.2 km]<2> to the west of the Decatur that is located in Rockbridge County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Decatur.
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)
- Cedar Grove is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cornwall
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cornwall is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Crossroads Store
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Crossroads Store is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads Store
- Fredericksburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fredericksburg is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Irish Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Irish Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Creek
- Jonestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jonestown is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
- Mountain View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mountain View is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Spottswood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Stony Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Run is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Run
- Timber Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
- Vesuvius
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Zack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Zack is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zack
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<5>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<6> 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).<7>
- 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).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,622 miles [7,438.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'
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 from Point A (ie- Decatur) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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.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). |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.297 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.886 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.047 degrees. |
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