RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Floyd County >> Laurel Branch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Laurel Branch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch:
    • 36.914299, -80.392831
    • 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 Laurel Branch
  • 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 Floyd County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Floyd County
    • Since Laurel Branch is near Montgomery County and also Patrick County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Patrick 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 Laurel Branch

Communities Also Named Laurel Branch ...

We found three communities that are also named Laurel Branch.

Within Virginia, the name Laurel Branch is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Jackson County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Jackson County and lies 204 miles [328.3 km]<1> to the west of the Laurel Branch that is located in Floyd County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Laurel Branch.
    • Maryland
      • Charles County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Charles County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Laurel Branch that is located in Floyd County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charles County community of Laurel Branch.
    • West Virginia
      • Monroe County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Monroe County and lies 42 miles [67.6 km]<1> to the north of the Laurel Branch that is located in Floyd County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Laurel Branch.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Branch ...

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.

  • Basham
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Basham is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basham
  • Carthage
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Carthage is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
  • Charity
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Charity is located in Patrick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
  • Floyd
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Haycock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Haycock is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
  • Huffville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Huffville is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffville
  • Indian Valley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Little Montgomery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Montgomery is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Montgomery
  • Pilot
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Smart
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Smart is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smart
  • Terrys Fork
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
  • Union
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Union is located in Floyd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • Woolwine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Floyd, which is the Seat of Floyd County, lies just to the East.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Laurel Branch to Richmond, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 228 miles [366.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,126 miles [9,858.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,831 miles [10,993.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,708 miles [7,576.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9143, Longitude: -80.3928       In this case, the coordinates for Laurel Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.946 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.484 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.803 degrees.