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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in North Springfield, we use the following websites to find information relevant to North Springfield 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 North Springfield:
    • 38.804280, -77.204704
    • 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 North Springfield
  • 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 North Springfield is near Alexandria City and also Arlington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alexandria City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Arlington 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 North Springfield

Communities Also Named North Springfield ...

We found four communities that are also named North Springfield.

Within Virginia, the name North Springfield is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ohio
      • Summit County
      • This North Springfield is located in Summit County and lies 272 miles [437.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the North Springfield that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of North Springfield.
    • Oregon
      • Lane County
      • This North Springfield is located in Lane County and lies 2,367 miles [3,809.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the North Springfield that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lane County community of North Springfield.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Erie County
      • This North Springfield is located in Erie County and lies 277 miles [445.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the North Springfield that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of North Springfield.
    • Vermont
      • Windsor County
      • This North Springfield is located in Windsor County and lies 396 miles [637.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the North Springfield that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Windsor County community of North Springfield.

Curious and Interesting Names Near North Springfield ...

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.

  • Alpine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Alpine is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
  • Camelot
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Camelot is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot
  • Cedar Crest
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Cedar Crest is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
  • Chestnut Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • Doveville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Doveville is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doveville
  • Hillbrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Hillbrook is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillbrook
  • Homewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Homewood is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
  • Hunts Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hunts Village is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Village
  • Indian Run Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Indian Run Park is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Run Park
  • Indian Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Indian Springs is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
  • Kings Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Kings Park is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Park
  • Lee Forest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lee Forest is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Forest
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Lee Meadows
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lee Meadows is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Meadows
    • Mount Pleasant
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Ridge is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
    • Red Fox Forest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Red Fox Forest is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Fox Forest
    • Valley Brook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Valley Brook is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Brook
    • Walters Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Walters Woods is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters Woods
    • Willow Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Willow Run is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Run
    • Willow Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Willow Woods is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Woods

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 88 miles [141.6 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from North Springfield 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 11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast (NE). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,908 miles [9,508 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,614 miles [10,644.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,491 miles [7,227.6 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- North Springfield) 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 North Springfield 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 North Springfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8043, Longitude: -77.2047       In this case, the coordinates for North Springfield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.994 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.543 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.82 degrees.