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:
- 38.454568, -77.346371
- 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 Stafford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Stafford County
- Since Decatur is near Charles County and also Prince William County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Charles County
- eBird sighting report for Prince William 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 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 667 miles [1,073.4 km]<1> to the west of the Decatur that is located in Stafford 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 814 miles [1,310 km] to the west of the Decatur that is located in Stafford 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.
- Aqua Villa
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aqua Villa have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aqua Villa
- Aqua Villa is located in Stafford County
- Bells Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Bowers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Coal Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Landing
- Coal Landing is located in Stafford County
- Cobblestone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cobblestone have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobblestone
- Cobblestone is located in Stafford County
- Dogwoods
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Greenridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenridge
- Greenridge is located in Stafford County
- Harris
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Midway Island
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Island
- Midway Island is located in Stafford County
- Quail Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Raspberry
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Rivendell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Continue List (12 more) ...
- Sams Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sams Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sams Ridge
- Sams Ridge is located in Stafford County
- Shadow Woods
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shadow Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Woods
- Shadow Woods is located in Stafford County
- Stone River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone River
- Stone River is located in Stafford County
- Summerwind
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerwind have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwind
- Summerwind is located in Stafford County
- Summerwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwood
- Summerwood is located in Stafford County
- Sunnyside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Sunshine Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunshine Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine Hills
- Sunshine Hills is located in Stafford County
- Sunshine View
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunshine View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine View
- Sunshine View is located in Stafford County
- Twin Oaks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Vintage Oaks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Oaks
- Vintage Oaks is located in Stafford County
- Widewater
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Widewater Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Widewater Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widewater Beach
- Widewater Beach is located in Stafford County
- Sams Ridge
How Far From Decatur 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 Decatur to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Decatur once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Decatur and extending to:
- Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies just to the West Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 63 miles [101.4 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Decatur to Richmond, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 34 miles [54.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). 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 most of two days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,929 miles [9,541.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,633 miles [10,674.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,511 miles [7,259.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Stafford County: www.co.stafford.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line 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: 38.4546, Longitude: -77.3464 In this case, the coordinates for Decatur have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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> | 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 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. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.098 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.608 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.012 degrees. |