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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rocktown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rocktown 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 Rocktown:
    • 36.712329, -82.140133
    • 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 Rocktown
  • 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 Rocktown is near Bristol City and also Russell 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 Russell 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 Rocktown

Communities Also Named Rocktown ...

We found two communities that are also named Rocktown.

Within Virginia, the name Rocktown is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New Jersey
      • Hunterdon County
      • This Rocktown is located in Hunterdon County and lies 468 miles [753.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Rocktown that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hunterdon County community of Rocktown.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Westmoreland County
      • This Rocktown is located in Westmoreland County and lies 275 miles [442.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rocktown that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Rocktown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rocktown ...

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.

  • Butts
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Butts is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butts
  • Craigs Mill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Craigs Mill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Mill
  • Evergreen Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Evergreen Hills is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Hills
  • Horizon Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Horizon Hills is located in Bristol City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horizon Hills
  • Leonard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Leonard is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
  • Lone Star
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lone Star is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
  • Meadow Crest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Meadow Crest is located in Bristol City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Crest
  • Oak Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Grove is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Ravens Nest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Ravens Nest is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravens Nest
  • Rush Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Rush Corner is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Corner
  • Rust Hollow
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Rust Hollow is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rust Hollow
  • Shadow Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Shadow Valley is located in Bristol City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Valley
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Virginia Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Virginia Heights is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Heights
    • Virginia Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Virginia Hills is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Hills
    • Walnut Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Bristol City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Wolfrun ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Wolfrun is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfrun

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

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

  • Abingdon, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Rocktown to Abingdon, 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 265 miles [426.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 316 miles [508.6 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 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,917 miles [11,131.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,793 miles [7,713.6 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rocktown) 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 Rocktown 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 Rocktown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7123, Longitude: -82.1401       In this case, the coordinates for Rocktown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.984 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.642 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.585 degrees.