RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Scott County >> Fort Blackmore >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Fort Blackmore, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fort Blackmore and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Fort Blackmore:
    • 36.774370, -82.589160
    • 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 Fort Blackmore
  • 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 Scott County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Scott County
    • Since Fort Blackmore is near Wise County and also Norton City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wise County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Norton 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 Fort Blackmore

Curious and Interesting Names Near Fort Blackmore ...

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.

  • Bush Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Bush Mill is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush Mill
  • Clinch
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Clinch is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinch
  • Cracker Neck
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cracker Neck is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cracker Neck
  • Crackers Neck
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Crackers Neck is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crackers Neck
  • Craft Mill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Craft Mill is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craft Mill
  • Grays
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Grays is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays
  • Grays Ford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Grays Ford is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Ford
  • Manville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Manville is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
  • Slabtown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Slabtown is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Snowflake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Stanleytown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Stanleytown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanleytown
    • Stringtown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Stringtown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Three Forks
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Three Forks is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Forks
    • Twin Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Twin Springs is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Springs
    • Williams Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Williams Mill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Mill

How Far From Fort Blackmore to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Fort Blackmore to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Fort Blackmore and extending to:

  • Gate City, which is the Seat of Scott County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Fort Blackmore to Gate City, with an average speed<2> 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 288 miles [463.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 336 miles [540.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,224 miles [10,016.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,934 miles [11,159.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,810 miles [7,740.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fort Blackmore) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Fort Blackmore 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 Fort Blackmore. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7744, Longitude: -82.5892    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.253 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.959 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.753 degrees.