RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Loudoun County >> Potomac Falls >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Potomac Falls, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Potomac Falls 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 Potomac Falls:
    • 39.050108, -77.400820
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Potomac Falls
  • 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 Loudoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Loudoun County
    • Since Potomac Falls is near Fairfax County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Potomac Falls

Communities Also Named Potomac Falls ...

We found one communities that are also named Potomac Falls.

Within Virginia, the name Potomac Falls is unique.

Beyond Virginia, there is another community also named Potomac Falls in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Montgomery County
      • This Potomac Falls is located in Montgomery County and lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Potomac Falls that is located in Loudoun County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Potomac Falls.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Potomac Falls ...

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.

  • Cooktown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cooktown is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooktown
  • Countryside
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Countryside is located in Loudoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
  • Dawsonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dawsonville is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
  • Deanwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Deanwood is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwood
  • Edwards Ferry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Edwards Ferry is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Ferry
  • Farmlands
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Farmlands is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmlands
  • Glen Query
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Glen Query is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Query
  • Graves
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Graves is located in Loudoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graves
  • Hickory Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickory Creek is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
  • Oak Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Oak Grove is located in Loudoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Pioneer Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pioneer Hills is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Hills
  • Riverwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Riverwood is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rushville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Rushville is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
    • Spring Meadows
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Meadows is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadows
    • Springvale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Springvale is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springvale
    • Sugarland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Sugarland is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarland
    • Sugarland Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Sugarland Run is located in Loudoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarland Run
    • University Center
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • University Center is located in Loudoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Center

How Far From Potomac Falls 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 Potomac Falls to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Leesburg, which is the Seat of Loudoun County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Potomac Falls to Leesburg, with an average speed<2> 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 104 miles [167.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 22 miles [35.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,906 miles [9,504.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,613 miles [10,642.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,489 miles [7,224.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Potomac Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Potomac Falls to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Potomac Falls. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0501, Longitude: -77.4008       In this case, the coordinates for Potomac Falls have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.095 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.696 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.809 degrees.