RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Botetourt County >> Mount Union >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Mount Union, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Union 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 Mount Union:
    • 37.451798, -79.970043
    • 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 Mount Union
  • 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 Botetourt County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Botetourt County
    • Since Mount Union is near Roanoke County and also Craig County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roanoke County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Craig 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 Mount Union

Communities Also Named Mount Union ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Mount Union.

Within Virginia, the name Mount Union is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Conecuh County
      • This Mount Union is located in Conecuh County and lies 570 miles [917.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Conecuh County community of Mount Union.
    • Iowa
      • Henry County
      • This Mount Union is located in Henry County and lies 658 miles [1,058.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Mount Union.
    • Kansas
      • Pottawatomie County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Mount Union [Pottawatomie County].
    • Kentucky
      • Allen County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Mount Union [Allen County].
    • Louisiana
      • Union Parish
      • This Mount Union is located in Union Parish and lies 774 miles [1,245.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union Parish community of Mount Union.
    • Ohio
      • Holmes County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Mount Union [Holmes County].
      • Stark County
      • This Mount Union is located in Stark County and lies 245 miles [394.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Mount Union.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Franklin County
      • This Mount Union is located in Franklin County and lies 215 miles [346 km]<1> to the northeast of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Mount Union.
      • Huntingdon County
      • This Mount Union is located in Huntingdon County and lies 231 miles [371.8 km] to the north northeast of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huntingdon County community of Mount Union.
    • Tennessee
      • Jackson County
      • This Mount Union is located in Jackson County and lies 317 miles [510.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Mount Union.
      • Pickett County
      • This Mount Union is located in Pickett County and lies 290 miles [466.7 km] to the west of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pickett County community of Mount Union.
    • Texas
      • Jasper County
      • This Mount Union is located in Jasper County and lies 927 miles [1,491.9 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Mount Union that is located in Botetourt County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Mount Union.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mount Union ...

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.

  • Amsterdam
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
  • Cloverdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Craigs Creek ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Craigs Creek is located in Craig County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Creek
  • Daleville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Haymakertown
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Haymakertown is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymakertown
  • Hedgelawn Gardens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hedgelawn Gardens is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgelawn Gardens
  • Lone Star
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Lone Star is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
  • Marshalltown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Marshalltown is located in Craig County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
  • Mason Cove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
  • Runaway Village
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
  • Sherry Court
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Sherry Court is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherry Court
  • Spruce Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Spruce Hill is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Hill
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Sunnybrook
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sunnybrook is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybrook
    • Tinker ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Tinker is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinker
    • Tinker Knoll
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Tinker Knoll is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinker Knoll
    • Trinity
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Trinity is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
    • Troutville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Virginia Mineral Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Waterfall Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Waterfall Lake is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterfall Lake

How Far From Mount Union to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers 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 Union to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Fincastle, which is the Seat of Botetourt County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 138 miles [222.1 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Mount Union 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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 187 miles [300.9 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 6,084 miles [9,791.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,790 miles [10,927.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,667 miles [7,510.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Mount Union 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.
<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 Mount Union, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Mount Union 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 Mount Union. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4518, Longitude: -79.9700       In this case, the coordinates for Mount Union have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.685 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.265 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.454 degrees.