RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Pittsylvania County >> Natal >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Natal:
    • 36.986807, -79.267244
    • 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 Natal
  • 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 Pittsylvania County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pittsylvania County
    • Since Natal is near Campbell County and also Halifax County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Campbell County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Halifax 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 Natal

Communities Also Named Natal ...

We found two communities that are also named Natal.

Within Virginia, the name Natal is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the British Columbia community of Natal.
    • Oregon
      • Columbia County
      • This Natal is located in Columbia County and lies 2,323 miles [3,738.5 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Natal that is located in Pittsylvania County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Natal.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Natal ...

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.

  • Chalk Level
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
  • Farmers
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Farmers is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers
  • Glenland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Glenland is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenland
  • Greenfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Greenfield is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
  • Grit
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Grit is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grit
  • Hill Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hill Grove is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Grove
  • Hurt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <3>
  • Level Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Level Run is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Run
  • Motley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Motley is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
  • Pickerel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Pickerel is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickerel
  • Pine Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Pine Ridge is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
  • Riceville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Riceville is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
  • Smothers
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Smothers is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothers
  • Straightstone
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Straightstone is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straightstone

How Far From Natal 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 Natal to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Chatham, which is the Seat of Pittsylvania County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Natal to Chatham, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 107 miles [172.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 179 miles [288.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,075 miles [9,776.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,777 miles [10,906.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,655 miles [7,491.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Natal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Natal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Natal 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 Natal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9868, Longitude: -79.2672       In this case, the coordinates for Natal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.284 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.738 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.322 degrees.