Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orchid, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orchid and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Orchid
- 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 Orchid:
- 37.829032, -77.895273
- 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 Orchid
- 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 Louisa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Louisa County
- Since Orchid is near Goochland County and also Hanover County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Goochland County
- eBird sighting report for Hanover 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 Orchid ...
We found three communities that share the name Orchid.
Within Virginia, the name Orchid is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Brevard 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 Florida community of Orchid [Brevard County].
- Indian River County
- This Orchid is located in Indian River County and lies 709 miles [1,141 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Orchid that is located in Louisa County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Indian River County community of Orchid.
- Missouri
- Florida
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orchid ...
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.
- Apple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Apple Grove is located in Louisa County
- Deep Woods
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Woods
- Deep Woods is located in Goochland County
- Deerwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Gays ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Gum Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Spring
- Gum Spring is located in Louisa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gum Spring <4>
- Holly Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Holly Grove is located in Louisa County
- Running Still
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Running Still have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Still
- Running Still is located in Goochland County
- Sandy Hook
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Sandy Hook is located in Goochland County
- Willowbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbrook
- Willowbrook is located in Louisa County
How Far From Orchid 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 Orchid to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orchid and extending to:
- Louisa, which is the Seat of Louisa County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Orchid to Louisa, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 32 miles [51.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 87 miles [140 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,980 miles [9,623.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,682 miles [10,753.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,560 miles [7,338.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Orchid. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Louisa County: www.louisacounty.com/
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 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 Orchid 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Orchid) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orchid. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8290, Longitude: -77.8953 In this case, the coordinates for Orchid 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Orchid to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.452 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.915 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.469 degrees. |