RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Wise County >> Round Top >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Round Top, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Round Top 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 Round Top:
    • 37.028715, -82.516542
    • 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 Round Top
  • 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 Wise County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wise County
    • Since Round Top is near Dickenson County and also Norton City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dickenson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Norton City
  • 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 Round Top

Communities Also Named Round Top ...

We found seven communities that are also named Round Top.

Within Virginia, the name Round Top is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Benton County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Round Top [Benton County].
    • New Jersey
      • Somerset County
      • This Round Top is located in Somerset County and lies 495 miles [796.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Round Top that is located in Wise County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Round Top.
    • New York
      • Greene County
      • This Round Top is located in Greene County and lies 577 miles [928.6 km]<2> to the northeast of the Round Top that is located in Wise County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Round Top.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Adams County
      • This Round Top is located in Adams County and lies 343 miles [552 km]<2> to the northeast of the Round Top that is located in Wise County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Round Top.
    • Rhode Island
      • Providence County
      • This Round Top is located in Providence County and lies 669 miles [1,076.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Round Top that is located in Wise County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Providence County community of Round Top.
    • Tennessee
      • Wilson County
      • This Round Top is located in Wilson County and lies 208 miles [334.7 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Round Top that is located in Wise County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wilson County community of Round Top.
    • Texas
      • Fayette County
      • This Round Top is located in Fayette County and lies 945 miles [1,520.8 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Round Top that is located in Wise County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Round Top.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Round Top ...

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.

  • Big Laurel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Big Laurel is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Laurel
  • Bondtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bondtown is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondtown
  • Cranes Nest
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cranes Nest is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranes Nest
  • Darwin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Darwin is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
  • Flat Top
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Flat Top is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
  • Herald
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Herald is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
  • Hugh
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hugh is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugh
  • Hurricane
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hurricane is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
  • Ibex ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Ibex is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ibex
  • Lanes Store
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Lanes Store is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanes Store
  • Longfork
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Longfork is located in Dickenson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longfork
  • Lyons
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Lyons is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Maytown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Maytown is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
    • Peaks Store
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Peaks Store is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaks Store
    • Riverview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Riverview is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Short ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Short is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Toms Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Toms Creek is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms Creek
    • Wise
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Wise, which is the Seat of Wise County, lies just to the Southwest.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 281 miles [452.2 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Round Top to Richmond, with an average speed<4>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 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 324 miles [521.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> 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).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,921 miles [11,138.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,796 miles [7,718.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Round Top, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Round Top) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Round Top 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 Round Top. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0287, Longitude: -82.5165       In this case, the coordinates for Round Top have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.209 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.946 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.648 degrees.