Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Galveston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Galveston and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Galveston
- 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 Galveston:
- 36.919863, -79.383358
- 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 Galveston
- 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 Pittsylvania County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pittsylvania County
- Since Galveston is near Bedford County and also Campbell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- eBird sighting report for Campbell 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 Galveston ...
We found four communities that share the name Galveston.
Within Virginia, the name Galveston is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- North Carolina
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Galveston ...
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.
- Brights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Cedar Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in Pittsylvania County
- Chalk Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
- Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
- Climax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Farmers
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Green Pond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
- Green Pond is located in Pittsylvania County
- Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Greenfield is located in Pittsylvania County
- Motleys Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Motleys Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motleys Mill
- Motleys Mill is located in Pittsylvania County
- Natal
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Pickerel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Redeye
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Smothers
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Continue List (4 more) ...
- Whittles
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Whittletown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whittletown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittletown
- Whittletown is located in Pittsylvania County
- Woodlawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Woodlawn Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodlawn Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Heights
- Woodlawn Heights is located in Pittsylvania County
- Whittles
How Far From Galveston 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 Galveston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Galveston and extending to:
- Chatham, which is the Seat of Pittsylvania County, lies just to the South.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 115 miles [185.1 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Galveston to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 187 miles [300.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,083 miles [9,789.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,785 miles [10,919.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,663 miles [7,504.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Galveston. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pittsylvania County: www.pittgov.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Galveston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Galveston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9199, Longitude: -79.3834 In this case, the coordinates for Galveston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Galveston 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Galveston to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.354 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.808 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.391 degrees. |