Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ontario, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ontario and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ontario
- 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 Ontario:
- 36.988483, -78.486105
- 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.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Ontario
- 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 Charlotte County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Charlotte County
- Since Ontario is near Lunenburg County and also Prince Edward County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lunenburg County
- eBird sighting report for Prince Edward 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Ontario ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Ontario.
Within Virginia, the name Ontario is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Michigan
- New York
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ontario ...
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.
- Bruceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bruceville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Bruceville is located in Lunenburg County
- County Line Cross Roads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for County Line Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line Cross Roads
- County Line Cross Roads is located in Charlotte County
- Eureka
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Five Forks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Lunenburg County
- Henry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Kells Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kells Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kells Corner
- Kells Corner is located in Lunenburg County
- Plantersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plantersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantersville
- Plantersville is located in Lunenburg County
- Pleasant Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Lunenburg County
- Simplicity
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simplicity have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simplicity
- Simplicity is located in Lunenburg County
How Far From Ontario 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 Ontario to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ontario and extending to:
- Charlotte Court House, which is the Seat of Charlotte County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ontario to Charlotte Court House, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 69 miles [111 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 about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 153 miles [246.2 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,041 miles [9,722 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,741 miles [10,848.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,620 miles [7,435.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ontario. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Charlotte County: www.co.charlotte.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ontario) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ontario. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9885, Longitude: -78.4861 In this case, the coordinates for Ontario have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Ontario 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> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <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 Ontario to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.829 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.22 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.006 degrees. |