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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Oakton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oakton 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 Oakton:
    • 38.881062, -77.300817
    • 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 Oakton
  • 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 Oakton is near Fairfax City and also Falls Church City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Falls Church 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 Oakton

Communities Also Named Oakton ...

We found ten communities that are also named Oakton.

Within Virginia, the name Oakton is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Cobb County
      • This Oakton is located in Cobb County and lies 527 miles [848.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cobb County community of Oakton.
      • Walker County
      • This Oakton is located in Walker County and lies 531 miles [854.6 km] to the west southwest of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walker County community of Oakton.
    • Illinois
      • Cook County
      • This Oakton is located in Cook County and lies 586 miles [943.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Oakton.
    • Iowa
      • Scott 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 Iowa community of Oakton [Scott County].
    • Kentucky
      • Hickman County
      • This Oakton is located in Hickman County and lies 659 miles [1,060.6 km]<1> to the west of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hickman County community of Oakton.
    • Missouri
      • Barton County
      • This Oakton is located in Barton County and lies 929 miles [1,495.1 km]<1> to the west of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barton County community of Oakton.
    • North Carolina
      • Robeson County
      • This Oakton is located in Robeson County and lies 317 miles [510.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Robeson County community of Oakton.
    • South Carolina
      • Marion 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 South Carolina community of Oakton [Marion County].
    • West Virginia
      • Berkeley 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 West Virginia community of Oakton [Berkeley County].
      • Clay County
      • This Oakton is located in Clay County and lies 203 miles [326.7 km]<1> to the west of the Oakton that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Oakton.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oakton ...

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.

  • Blue Oaks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Blue Oaks is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Oaks
  • Camelot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Camelot is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot
  • Cinnamon Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cinnamon Creek is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinnamon Creek
  • Doveville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Doveville is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doveville
  • Enola
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Enola is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
  • Fair Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Fair Oaks is located in Fairfax City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
  • Four Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Four Corners is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Franklin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Franklin is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Green Acres
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Green Acres is located in Fairfax City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Greenway Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Greenway Hills is located in Fairfax City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway Hills
  • Holly Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Holly Park is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Park
  • Howard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Howard is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Hunts Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hunts Village is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Village
    • Joyce Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Joyce Heights is located in Fairfax City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce Heights
    • Lee Forest
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lee Forest is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Forest
    • Lee Meadows
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lee Meadows is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Meadows
    • Lee-Hi Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lee-Hi Village is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee-Hi Village
    • Lincoln Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincoln Park is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
    • Little River Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Little River Hills is located in Fairfax City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River Hills
    • Maple Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Maple Hills is located in Fairfax City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hills
    • Moneys Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Moneys Corner is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneys Corner
    • Navy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Navy is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navy
    • Pine Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Pinecrest
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Pinecrest is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinecrest
    • Random Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sun Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Sun Valley is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
    • Willow Woods
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Willow Woods is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Woods
    • Wolf Trap
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Wolf Trap is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Trap

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Oakton to Richmond, with an average speed<3>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 6 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 14 miles [22.5 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take most of a day.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,909 miles [9,509.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,615 miles [10,645.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,492 miles [7,229.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oakton) 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Oakton 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>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 Oakton 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 Oakton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8811, Longitude: -77.3008       In this case, the coordinates for Oakton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.046 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.614 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.831 degrees.