RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Fairfax County >> New Alexandria >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in New Alexandria, we use the following websites to find information relevant to New Alexandria 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 New Alexandria:
    • 38.776503, -77.056644
    • 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 New Alexandria
  • 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 Fairfax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
    • Since New Alexandria is near Prince George's County and also Alexandria City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince George's County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alexandria 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 New Alexandria

Communities Also Named New Alexandria ...

We found two communities that are also named New Alexandria.

Within Virginia, the name New Alexandria is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ohio
      • Jefferson County
      • This New Alexandria is located in Jefferson County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the New Alexandria that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of New Alexandria.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Westmoreland County
      • This New Alexandria is located in Westmoreland County and lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the New Alexandria that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of New Alexandria.

Curious and Interesting Names Near New Alexandria ...

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.

  • Cannon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cannon is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
  • Chapel Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chapel Hill is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
  • Clover
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Clover is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover
  • College Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • College Park is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
  • Delta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Delta is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
  • Duke Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Duke Gardens is located in Alexandria City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Gardens
  • Fair Haven
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Fair Haven is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
  • Fort Hunt
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Fort Hunt is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunt
  • Friendly Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Friendly Hills is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendly Hills
  • Governors Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Governors Grove is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Governors Grove
  • Gum Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Gum Springs is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
  • Harmony Hall
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Harmony Hall is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Hall
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Hunter
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Hunter is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
    • Hunts Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunts Corner is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corner
    • Kerby Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Kerby Hill is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerby Hill
    • Marlin Forest
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Marlin Forest is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlin Forest
    • Memorial Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Memorial Heights is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Heights
    • Ridgeview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Ridgeview is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeview
    • Riverside Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Riverside Gardens is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Gardens
    • Riverview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Riverview is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Rose Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Rose Hill is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
    • Silver Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Silver Springs is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
    • Spring Bank
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Spring Bank is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bank
    • Sunnyview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunnyview is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
    • Virginia Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Virginia Hills is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Hills

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 87 miles [140 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from New Alexandria to Richmond, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is just to the north (N).
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,903 miles [9,500 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,608 miles [10,634.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,485 miles [7,217.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- New Alexandria) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 New Alexandria 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 New Alexandria. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7765, Longitude: -77.0566       In this case, the coordinates for New Alexandria have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.909 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.442 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.769 degrees.