Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Middle Mountain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Middle Mountain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Middle Mountain
- 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 Middle Mountain:
- 37.547350, -80.121718
- 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 Middle Mountain
- 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 Craig County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Craig County
- Since Middle Mountain is near Alleghany County and also Botetourt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
- eBird sighting report for Botetourt 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Middle Mountain ...
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.
- Boiling Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boiling Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
- Boiling Spring is located in Alleghany County
- Craigs Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craigs Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Creek
- Craigs Creek is located in Craig County
- Gunn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Haymakertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haymakertown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymakertown
- Haymakertown is located in Botetourt County
- Iron Hill Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron Hill Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Hill Springs
- Iron Hill Springs is located in Alleghany County
- Lignite
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Lone Star
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Marshalltown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshalltown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
- Marshalltown is located in Craig County
- Paint Bank
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paint Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Bank
- Paint Bank is located in Craig County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paint Bank <2>
- Potts Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potts Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potts Creek
- Potts Creek is located in Alleghany County
- Sweet Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Springs
- Sweet Springs is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Tinker ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Virginia Mineral Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mineral Springs
- Virginia Mineral Springs is located in Craig County
How Far From Middle Mountain 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 Middle Mountain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Middle Mountain once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Middle Mountain and extending to:
- New Castle, which is the Seat of Craig County, lies just to the South.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 147 miles [236.6 km]<4> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Middle Mountain to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 191 miles [307.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,086 miles [9,794.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,793 miles [10,932.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,670 miles [7,515.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Craig County: www.co.craig.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Middle Mountain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Middle Mountain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Middle Mountain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5474, Longitude: -80.1217 In this case, the coordinates for Middle Mountain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Middle Mountain to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.772 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.379 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.485 degrees. |