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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Virginia

The Commemorative Quarter for Virginia





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Portsmouth, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portsmouth and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Portsmouth:
    • 36.835226, -76.306857
    • 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 Portsmouth
  • 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 Portsmouth ...

We found nine communities that share the name Portsmouth.

There is one other community in Virginia which is also named Portsmouth.

Beyond Virginia, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, eight are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Norfolk City
      • 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 Virginia community of Portsmouth [Norfolk City].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Iowa
      • Shelby County
      • This Portsmouth is located in Shelby County and lies 1,077 miles [1,733.3 km]<2> to the west northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Portsmouth.
    • Kentucky
      • Breathitt County
      • This Portsmouth is located in Breathitt County and lies 388 miles [624.4 km]<2> to the west.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Breathitt County community of Portsmouth.
    • Michigan
      • Bay 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 Michigan community of Portsmouth [Bay County].
    • New Hampshire
      • Rockingham County
      • This Portsmouth is located in Rockingham County and lies 519 miles [835.2 km]<2> to the north northeast.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockingham County community of Portsmouth.
    • North Carolina
      • Carteret County
      • This Portsmouth is located in Carteret County and lies 122 miles [196.3 km]<2> to the south.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carteret County community of Portsmouth.
    • Ohio
      • Scioto County
      • This Portsmouth is located in Scioto County and lies 386 miles [621.2 km]<2> to the west northwest.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scioto County community of Portsmouth.
    • Ontario
      • This Portsmouth lies 510 miles [820.8 km]<2> to the north.
    • Rhode Island
      • Newport County
      • This Portsmouth is located in Newport County and lies 425 miles [684 km]<2> to the northeast.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newport County community of Portsmouth.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Portsmouth ...

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.

  • Cedar Point
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
    • Cedar Point is located in Portsmouth City
  • Cloverdale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
    • Cloverdale is located in Chesapeake City
  • Edgewater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
    • Edgewater is located in Norfolk City
  • Edmonds Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edmonds Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds Corner
    • Edmonds Corner is located in Chesapeake City
  • Elizabeth Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth Park
    • Elizabeth Park is located in Norfolk City
  • Fairwater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairwater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairwater
    • Fairwater is located in Norfolk City
  • Foundation Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foundation Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundation Park
    • Foundation Park is located in Chesapeake City
  • Fox Hall
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hall
    • Fox Hall is located in Norfolk City
  • Geneva Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva Park
    • Geneva Park is located in Chesapeake City
  • Geneva Shores
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva Shores
    • Geneva Shores is located in Chesapeake City
  • Green Lakes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lakes
    • Green Lakes is located in Portsmouth City
  • Greenfield Farms
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Farms
    • Greenfield Farms is located in Portsmouth City
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Grove Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
      • Grove Park is located in Portsmouth City
    • Huntersville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
      • Huntersville is located in Norfolk City
    • Kingman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingman
      • Kingman is located in Portsmouth City
    • Manor View
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manor View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor View
      • Manor View is located in Portsmouth City
    • Mayflower Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayflower Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayflower Park
      • Mayflower Park is located in Portsmouth City
    • Oregon Gardens
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oregon Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon Gardens
      • Oregon Gardens is located in Portsmouth City
    • Pennsytown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennsytown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennsytown
      • Pennsytown is located in Norfolk City
    • Providence Junction
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Junction
      • Providence Junction is located in Chesapeake City
    • River Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Park
      • River Park is located in Portsmouth City
    • Riverview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
      • Riverview is located in Norfolk City
    • Siesta Gardens
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siesta Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siesta Gardens
      • Siesta Gardens is located in Portsmouth City
    • Tanglewood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tanglewood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
      • Tanglewood is located in Chesapeake City
    • Victory Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victory Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Park
      • Victory Park is located in Portsmouth City
    • Williams Court
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williams Court have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Court
      • Williams Court is located in Portsmouth City
    • Woodland Terrace
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Terrace
      • Woodland Terrace is located in Chesapeake City

How Far From Portsmouth to ...

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 city such as Portsmouth to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 78 miles [125.5 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Portsmouth to Richmond, with an average speed<4>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 147 miles [236.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 5,953 miles [9,580.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,647 miles [10,697.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,528 miles [7,287.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

The official website for Portsmouth: www.ci.portsmouth.va.us/

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 Portsmouth 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Portsmouth) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portsmouth. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8352, Longitude: -76.3069    
<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 Portsmouth 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 307.586 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.778 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.198 degrees.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025