Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Major, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Major and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Major
- 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 Major:
- 37.557915, -79.370033
- 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 Major
- 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 Bedford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- Since Major is near Amherst County and also Rockbridge County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Amherst County
- eBird sighting report for Rockbridge 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 Major ...
We found eight communities that share the name Major.
There is one other community in Virginia which is also named Major.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Virginia ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Henderson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Major [Henderson County].
- Owsley County
- This Major is located in Owsley County and lies 237 miles [381.4 km]<2> to the west of the Major that is located in Bedford County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Owsley County community of Major.
- Missouri
- Saskatchewan
- This Major lies 1,763 miles [2,837.3 km]<2> to the northwest of the Major that is located in Bedford County.
- Tennessee
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Major ...
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.
- Balcony Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balcony Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcony Falls
- Balcony Falls is located in Rockbridge County
- Buffalo Forge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Coffee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Eagles Eyrie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagles Eyrie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagles Eyrie
- Eagles Eyrie is located in Bedford County
- Fancy Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fancy Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Glasgow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
- Glasgow is located in Rockbridge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,107 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glasgow <5>
- Mechanicsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mechanicsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Mechanicsville is located in Rockbridge County
- Natural Bridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natural Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natural Bridge
- Natural Bridge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natural Bridge <5>
- Natural Bridge Station
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natural Bridge Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natural Bridge Station
- Natural Bridge Station is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natural Bridge Station <5>
- Otterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otterville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Otterville is located in Bedford County
- Pleasant View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Salt Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salt Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
How Far From Major 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 Major to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Major and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 105 miles [169 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Major to Richmond, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 156 miles [251.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,054 miles [9,743 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,759 miles [10,877.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,636 miles [7,460.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Major. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Major 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Major) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Major. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5579, Longitude: -79.3700 In this case, the coordinates for Major have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Major, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Major to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.328 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.873 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.171 degrees. |