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.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sam
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Sam ...
We found one communities that share the name 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 ...
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)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbs Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Big Vein
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Bluestone
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Brush Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brush Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Fork
- Brush Fork is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Coopers
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Cove Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cove Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Falls Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Hales Bottom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hales Bottom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Bottom
- Hales Bottom is located in Tazewell County
- Jenkinjones
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jenkinjones have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkinjones
- Jenkinjones is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Mud Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Pocahontas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Tiptop
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Yards
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
How Far From Sam 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 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<3> 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<4> 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).<5>
- 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).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,736 miles [7,621.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sam. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
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- Sam) to Point B.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). |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <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 Sam to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.503 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.169 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.092 degrees. |