RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Washington County >> Preston Hills >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Preston Hills, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Preston Hills 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 Preston Hills:
    • 36.643720, -82.098741
    • 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 Preston Hills
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Preston Hills is near Bristol City and also Sullivan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bristol City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sullivan 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 Preston Hills

Communities Also Named Preston Hills ...

We found one communities that are also named Preston Hills.

Within Virginia, the name Preston Hills is unique.

Beyond Virginia, there is another community also named Preston Hills in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Maricopa County
      • This Preston Hills is located in Maricopa County and lies 1,687 miles [2,715 km]<1> to the west of the Preston Hills that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Maricopa County community of Preston Hills.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Preston Hills ...

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.

  • Booker
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Booker is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker
  • Edgefield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgefield is located in Sullivan County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
  • Evergreen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Evergreen is located in Sullivan County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Evergreen Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Evergreen Hills is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Hills
  • Goose Pimple Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Goose Pimple Junction is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Pimple Junction
  • High Meadows
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • High Meadows is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadows
  • Horizon Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Horizon Hills is located in Bristol City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horizon Hills
  • Hunter Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
  • Kingtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Kingtown is located in Bristol City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingtown
  • Meadow Crest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadow Crest is located in Bristol City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Crest
  • Oak Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Oak Grove is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Painter Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Painter Spring is located in Sullivan County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painter Spring
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Redstone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Redstone is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
    • Rust Hollow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Rust Hollow is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rust Hollow
    • Shadow Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Shadow Valley is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Valley
    • Shakesville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Shakesville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakesville
    • Stonegate
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Stonegate is located in Sullivan County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonegate
    • Virginia Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Virginia Heights is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Heights
    • Virginia Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Virginia Hills is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Hills
    • Walnut Grove
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove

How Far From Preston Hills 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 community such as Preston Hills to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Abingdon, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 264 miles [424.9 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Preston Hills to Richmond, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 15 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 317 miles [510.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,210 miles [9,994 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,918 miles [11,133.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,794 miles [7,715.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Preston Hills) 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 Preston Hills 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 Preston Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6437, Longitude: -82.0987       In this case, the coordinates for Preston Hills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.959 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.604 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.588 degrees.