RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Russell County >> Hazel >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Hazel:
    • 36.990661, -82.253751
    • 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 Hazel
  • 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 Russell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Russell County
    • Since Hazel is near Dickenson County and also Wise County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dickenson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wise 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 Hazel

Communities Also Named Hazel ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Hazel.

Within Virginia, the name Hazel is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Idaho
      • Cassia County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Hazel [Cassia County].
    • Kentucky
      • Calloway County
      • This Hazel is located in Calloway County and lies 337 miles [542.3 km]<2> to the west of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calloway County community of Hazel.
      • Union County
      • This Hazel is located in Union County and lies 317 miles [510.2 km] to the west of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Hazel.
    • Louisiana
      • Saint Martin Parish
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Hazel [Saint Martin Parish].
    • Manitoba
      • This Hazel lies 1,129 miles [1,816.9 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
    • Michigan
      • Houghton County
      • This Hazel is located in Houghton County and lies 753 miles [1,211.8 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Houghton County community of Hazel.
      • Iron County
      • This Hazel is located in Iron County and lies 715 miles [1,150.7 km] to the north northwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iron County community of Hazel.
    • Minnesota
      • Pennington County
      • This Hazel is located in Pennington County and lies 1,035 miles [1,665.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pennington County community of Hazel.
    • Mississippi
      • Newton County
      • This Hazel is located in Newton County and lies 511 miles [822.4 km]<2> to the southwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Hazel.
    • New York
      • Sullivan County
      • This Hazel is located in Sullivan County and lies 520 miles [836.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Hazel.
    • South Carolina
      • Pickens County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Hazel [Pickens County].
    • South Dakota
      • Hamlin County
      • This Hazel is located in Hamlin County and lies 952 miles [1,532.1 km]<2> to the northwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamlin County community of Hazel.
    • Tennessee
      • Henry County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Hazel [Henry County].
    • Texas
      • Clay County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Hazel [Clay County].
    • Washington
      • Snohomish County
      • This Hazel is located in Snohomish County and lies 2,126 miles [3,421.5 km]<2> to the northwest of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Snohomish County community of Hazel.
    • West Virginia
      • Wetzel County
      • This Hazel is located in Wetzel County and lies 200 miles [321.9 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Hazel that is located in Russell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wetzel County community of Hazel.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hazel ...

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.

  • Boody
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Boody is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boody
  • Carrie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carrie is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
  • Counts
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Counts is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Counts
  • Gravel Lick
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gravel Lick is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Lick
  • Jessees Mill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
  • John
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • John is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John
  • Judge ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Judge is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge
  • Lonesome ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lonesome is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonesome
  • Open Fork
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Open Fork is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Open Fork
  • Rural
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rural is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
  • Sun
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sun is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
  • Temple Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Temple Hill is located in Russell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
  • Tiny
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Tiny is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiny
  • Virginia City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Virginia City is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City

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

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

  • Lebanon, which is the Seat of Russell County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Hazel to Lebanon, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 267 miles [429.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 313 miles [503.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,200 miles [9,977.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,910 miles [11,120.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,786 miles [7,702.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Hazel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hazel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Hazel 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>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 Hazel 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 Hazel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9907, Longitude: -82.2538       In this case, the coordinates for Hazel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.051 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.76 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.549 degrees.