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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Rio:
    • 38.076248, -78.461122
    • 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 Rio
  • 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 Albemarle County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Albemarle County
    • Since Rio is near Charlottesville City and also Chesterfield County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Charlottesville City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chesterfield 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 Rio

Communities Also Named Rio ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Rio.

Within Virginia, the name Rio is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of twelve communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Martin County
      • This Rio is located in Martin County and lies 756 miles [1,216.7 km]<1> to the south of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Martin County community of Rio.
    • Georgia
      • Spalding County
      • This Rio is located in Spalding County and lies 468 miles [753.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spalding County community of Rio.
    • Illinois
      • Knox County
      • This Rio is located in Knox County and lies 668 miles [1,075 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Rio.
    • Kansas
      • Ford County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Rio [Ford County].
    • Kentucky
      • Hart County
      • This Rio is located in Hart County and lies 402 miles [647 km]<1> to the west of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hart County community of Rio.
    • Louisiana
      • Washington Parish
      • This Rio is located in Washington Parish and lies 825 miles [1,327.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington Parish community of Rio.
    • Mississippi
      • Kemper County
      • This Rio is located in Kemper County and lies 696 miles [1,120.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kemper County community of Rio.
    • New York
      • Orange County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Rio [Orange County].
    • North Dakota
      • Stutsman County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Dakota community of Rio [Stutsman County].
    • Utah
      • Utah County
      • This Rio is located in Utah County and lies 1,763 miles [2,837.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Utah County community of Rio.
    • West Virginia
      • Hampshire County
      • This Rio is located in Hampshire County and lies 74 miles [119.1 km]<1> to the north of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampshire County community of Rio.
    • Wisconsin
      • Columbia County
      • This Rio is located in Columbia County and lies 673 miles [1,083.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rio that is located in Albemarle County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Columbia County community of Rio.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rio ...

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.

  • Branchland
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Branchland is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchland
  • Chapel Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Chapel Hills is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hills
  • Fieldbrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Fieldbrook is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldbrook
  • Four Seasons
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Four Seasons is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Seasons
  • Franklin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Greenfields
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Greenfields is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfields
  • Hydraulic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Hydraulic is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydraulic
  • Ivy Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Ivy Ridge is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Ridge
  • Little Clover Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Little Clover Hill is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Clover Hill
  • Locust Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Locust Grove is located in Charlottesville City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Pen Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Pen Park is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Park
  • Queen Charlotte
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Queen Charlotte is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen Charlotte
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Raintree
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Raintree is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree
    • Riverrun
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Riverrun is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverrun
    • Rockbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Rockbrook is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockbrook
    • Squire Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Squire Hill is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squire Hill
    • Village Square
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Village Square is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Square
    • Wildwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Wildwood is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Willow Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Willow Heights is located in Albemarle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Heights

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

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

  • Charlottesville, which is the Seat of Albemarle County, lies just to the South Southwest.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 67 miles [107.8 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Rio to Richmond, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 95 miles [152.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,993 miles [9,644.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,698 miles [10,779.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,575 miles [7,362.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Rio) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Rio 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.
<3>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.
<4>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 Rio 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 Rio. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0762, Longitude: -78.4611       In this case, the coordinates for Rio have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.773 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.318 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.614 degrees.