Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Matoaca

• 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 Matoaca:
  • 37.230643, -77.478442
  • 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 Matoaca

• 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 Chesterfield County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Chesterfield County
  • Since Matoaca is near Dinwiddie County and also Petersburg City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Dinwiddie County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Petersburg City

• 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 Matoaca

Curious and Interesting Names Near Matoaca ...

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.

• Chestnut Gardens
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Chestnut Gardens is located in Dinwiddie County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Gardens
• College Park
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • College Park is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
• Field Crossing
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Field Crossing is located in Petersburg City
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Field Crossing
• Grant Village
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Grant Village is located in Dinwiddie County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Village
• Hunters Green
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hunters Green is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Green
• Jack
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Jack is located in Dinwiddie County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jack
• Lakeview
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lakeview is located in Colonial Heights City
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
• Rabbit Run
  (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Rabbit Run is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Run
• River View Park
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • River View Park is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View Park
• Robertson Place
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Robertson Place is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertson Place
• Sandy Ridge
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Sandy Ridge is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
• Trojan Woods
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Trojan Woods is located in Chesterfield County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trojan Woods

How Far From Matoaca to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Matoaca to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Matoaca and extending to:

• Chesterfield, which is the Seat of Chesterfield County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Matoaca to Chesterfield, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 21 miles [33.8 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 117 miles [188.3 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,987 miles [9,635.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,686 miles [10,760.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,565 miles [7,346.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'