Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Elon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Elon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Elon
- 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 Elon:
- 37.517640, -79.195027
- 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 Elon
- 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 Amherst County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Amherst County
- Since Elon is near Bedford County and also Lynchburg City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- eBird sighting report for Lynchburg 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 Elon ...
We found six communities that share the name Elon.
Within Virginia, the name Elon is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Elon ...
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.
- Coolwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Eagles Eyrie
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagles Eyrie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagles Eyrie
- Eagles Eyrie is located in Bedford County
- Five Forks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Amherst County
- Great Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Oaks
- Great Oaks is located in Amherst County
- Ivanhoe Forest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe Forest
- Ivanhoe Forest is located in Amherst County
- Martins Store
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martins Store have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Store
- Martins Store is located in Amherst County
- Old Stage Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Stage Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Stage Run
- Old Stage Run is located in Amherst County
- Panorama Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Hills
- Panorama Hills is located in Lynchburg City
- Peakland
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Pleasant View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Prices Store
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prices Store have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Store
- Prices Store is located in Amherst County
- Salt Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salt Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
- Sweet Briar Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Viking Fiord
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Viking Fiord have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viking Fiord
- Viking Fiord is located in Amherst County
How Far From Elon 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 Elon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Elon and extending to:
- Amherst, which is the Seat of Amherst County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Elon to Amherst, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 96 miles [154.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 150 miles [241.4 km] to the northeast (NE). 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 6,048 miles [9,733.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,753 miles [10,867.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,630 miles [7,451.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Elon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Amherst County: www.countyofamherst.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5176, Longitude: -79.1950 In this case, the coordinates for Elon 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 Elon, 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 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 Elon 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 Elon 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 309.226 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.751 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.112 degrees. |