RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Spotsylvania County >> Granite Springs >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Granite Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Granite Springs 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 Granite Springs:
    • 38.188468, -77.854439
    • 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 Granite Springs
  • 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 Spotsylvania County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Spotsylvania County
    • Since Granite Springs is near Orange County and also Louisa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Orange County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Louisa 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Granite Springs

Communities Also Named Granite Springs ...

We found two communities that are also named Granite Springs.

Within Virginia, the name Granite Springs is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Mariposa County
      • This Granite Springs is located in Mariposa County and lies 2,290 miles [3,685.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Granite Springs that is located in Spotsylvania County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mariposa County community of Granite Springs.
    • New York
      • Westchester County
      • This Granite Springs is located in Westchester County and lies 306 miles [492.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Granite Springs that is located in Spotsylvania County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westchester County community of Granite Springs.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Granite Springs ...

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.

  • Childs Cove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Childs Cove is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs Cove
  • Dan
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dan is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dan
  • Jones
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jones is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
  • Kirk O'Cliff
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kirk O'Cliff is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk O'Cliff
  • Mine Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Mine Run is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine Run
  • Porters
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Porters is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porters
  • Prince Dominion
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Prince Dominion is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prince Dominion
  • Vulcan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Vulcan is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
  • White Owl Landing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • White Owl Landing is located in Spotsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Owl Landing

How Far From Granite Springs 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 Granite Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Granite Springs and extending to:

  • Spotsylvania, which is the Seat of Spotsylvania County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Granite Springs to Spotsylvania, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 50 miles [80.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 65 miles [104.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,962 miles [9,594.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,666 miles [10,727.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,544 miles [7,312.9 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Granite Springs) 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 Granite Springs 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 Granite Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1885, Longitude: -77.8544       In this case, the coordinates for Granite Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.411 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.923 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.322 degrees.