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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rockfish, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rockfish 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 Rockfish:
    • 37.800693, -78.754093
    • 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 Rockfish
  • 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 Nelson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Nelson County
    • Since Rockfish is near Albemarle County and also Buckingham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Albemarle County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Buckingham 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 Rockfish

Communities Also Named Rockfish ...

We found one communities that are also named Rockfish.

Within Virginia, the name Rockfish is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • North Carolina
      • Hoke County
      • This Rockfish is located in Hoke County and lies 194 miles [312.2 km]<1> to the south of the Rockfish that is located in Nelson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hoke County community of Rockfish.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rockfish ...

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.

  • Bungletown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bungletown is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bungletown
  • Covesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Gordon Crossing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gordon Crossing is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon Crossing
  • Gullysville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Gullysville is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gullysville
  • Heards
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Heards is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heards
  • Howardsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Howardsville is located in Albemarle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
  • Lakeview Heights
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeview Heights is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Heights
  • Moses Crossing
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Moses Crossing is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moses Crossing
  • Porters
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Red Apple Orchard
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Red Apple Orchard is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple Orchard
  • Shipman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Twin Poplars
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Twin Poplars is located in Nelson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Poplars

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

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

  • Lovingston, which is the Seat of Nelson County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 74 miles [119.1 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Rockfish to Richmond, with an average speed<2>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 119 miles [191.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,017 miles [9,683.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,722 miles [10,818 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,599 miles [7,401.4 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- Rockfish) 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 Rockfish 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 Rockfish. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8007, Longitude: -78.7541    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.956 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.486 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.833 degrees.