Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Opal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Opal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Opal
- 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 Opal:
- 38.620921, -77.800637
- 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 Opal
- 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 Fauquier County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fauquier County
- Since Opal is near Culpeper County and also Rappahannock County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Culpeper County
- eBird sighting report for Rappahannock 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 Opal ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Opal.
Within Virginia, the name Opal is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alberta
- This Opal lies 1,965 miles [3,162.4 km]<2> to the northwest of the Opal that is located in Fauquier County.
- Arkansas
- Lonoke County
- This Opal is located in Lonoke County and lies 820 miles [1,319.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Opal that is located in Fauquier County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Opal.
- Polk County
- This Opal is located in Polk County and lies 939 miles [1,511.2 km] to the west southwest of the Opal that is located in Fauquier County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Polk County community of Opal.
- White County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Opal [White County].
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- South Dakota
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Lincoln County
- This Opal is located in Lincoln County and lies 1,718 miles [2,764.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Opal that is located in Fauquier County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Opal.
- Uinta County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wyoming community of Opal [Uinta County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Opal ...
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.
- Casanova
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casanova have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
- Casanova is located in Fauquier County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Casanova <5>
- Frytown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
- Frytown is located in Fauquier County
- Lakota
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Liberty
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Oak Shade
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Oak Tree Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Tree Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Tree Corner
- Oak Tree Corner is located in Fauquier County
- Sunny Knoll
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunny Knoll have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Knoll
- Sunny Knoll is located in Fauquier County
- Turkey Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkey Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Run
- Turkey Run is located in Fauquier County
- Weaverville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weaverville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaverville
- Weaverville is located in Fauquier County
How Far From Opal 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 Opal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Opal and extending to:
- Warrenton, which is the Seat of Fauquier County, lies just to the North.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 77 miles [123.9 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Opal to Richmond, with an average speed<6>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 45 miles [72.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,942 miles [9,562.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,647 miles [10,697.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,524 miles [7,280.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Opal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Fauquier County: www.fauquiercounty.gov/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Opal 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Opal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Opal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6209, Longitude: -77.8006 |
| <3> | 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 Opal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Opal to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.356 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.927 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.14 degrees. |