Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mount Gate, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Gate and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Gate
- 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 Mount Gate:
- 37.058448, -81.530668
- 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 Mount Gate
- 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 Tazewell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell County
- Since Mount Gate is near Smyth County and also Bland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Smyth County
- eBird sighting report for Bland 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 Mount Gate ...
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.
- Drytown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Five Oaks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Fourway
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Frog Level
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frog Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Level
- Frog Level is located in Tazewell County
- Gap Store
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Joe Neets
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Liberty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Maxwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- River Jack
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Jack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Jack
- River Jack is located in Tazewell County
- Tannersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tannersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannersville
- Tannersville is located in Tazewell County
How Far From Mount Gate 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 Mount Gate to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Mount Gate and extending to:
- Tazewell, which is the Seat of Tazewell County, lies just to the North.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 227 miles [365.3 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Mount Gate to Richmond, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 275 miles [442.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,167 miles [9,924.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,876 miles [11,065.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,752 miles [7,647.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mount Gate. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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> | 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- Mount Gate) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mount Gate. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0584, Longitude: -81.5307 In this case, the coordinates for Mount Gate have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Mount Gate to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.618 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.274 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.227 degrees. |