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 Orchard Heights:
37.268191, -80.045039
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.
We found seven communities that share the name Orchard Heights.
Within Virginia, the name Orchard Heights is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, six are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Illinois
Richland 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 Illinois community of Orchard Heights [Richland County].
Indiana
Saint Joseph 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 Indiana community of Orchard Heights [Saint Joseph County].
New Jersey
Middlesex County
This Orchard Heights is located in Middlesex County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<2> to the northeast.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Middlesex County community of Orchard Heights.
Ohio
Stark County
This Orchard Heights is located in Stark County and lies 251 miles [403.9 km]<2> to the north northwest.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Orchard Heights.
Ontario
This Orchard Heights lies 437 miles [703.3 km]<2> to the north.
Utah
Davis County
This Orchard Heights is located in Davis County and lies 1,714 miles [2,758.4 km]<2> to the west northwest.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davis County community of Orchard Heights.
Washington
Kitsap County
This Orchard Heights is located in Kitsap County and lies 2,250 miles [3,621 km]<2> to the west northwest.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kitsap County community of Orchard Heights.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orchard Heights ...
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.
Castle Rock (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Orchard Heights to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orchard Heights and extending to:
Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 144 miles [231.7 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Orchard Heights to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 198 miles [318.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,095 miles [9,809 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,801 miles [10,945.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,678 miles [7,528.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Orchard Heights 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 . 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 '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- Orchard Heights) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orchard Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2682, Longitude: -80.0450 In this case, the coordinates for Orchard Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Orchard Heights 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 309.734 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.294 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.546 degrees.