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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sam, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sam 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 Sam:
    • 37.239839, -81.340935
    • 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 Sam
  • 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 Tazewell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tazewell County
    • Since Sam is near Mercer County and also McDowell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mercer County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McDowell 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 Sam

Communities Also Named Sam ...

We found one communities that are also named Sam.

Within Virginia, the name Sam is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Idaho
      • Teton County
      • This Sam is located in Teton County and lies 1,626 miles [2,616.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sam that is located in Tazewell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Teton County community of Sam.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sam ...

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.

  • Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
  • Big Vein
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Big Vein is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Vein
  • Bluestone
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Bluestone is located in Mercer County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluestone
  • Brush Fork
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Brush Fork is located in Mercer County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Fork
  • Coopers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
  • Cove Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
  • Falls Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
  • Freeman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
  • Hales Bottom
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hales Bottom is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Bottom
  • Jenkinjones
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jenkinjones is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkinjones
  • Mud Fork
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Mud Fork is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Fork
  • Pocahontas
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Tiptop
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Tiptop is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiptop
  • Yards
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Yards is located in Tazewell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards

How Far From Sam to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sam to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Tazewell, which is the Seat of Tazewell County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sam to Tazewell, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 215 miles [346 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 260 miles [418.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,151 miles [9,899.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,860 miles [11,040.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,736 miles [7,621.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sam) 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 Sam 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 Sam. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2398, Longitude: -81.3409       In this case, the coordinates for Sam have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.503 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.169 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.092 degrees.