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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Snowden, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Snowden 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 Snowden:
    • 38.730393, -77.051366
    • 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 Snowden
  • 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 Fairfax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
    • Since Snowden is near Prince George's County and also Charles County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince George's County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Charles 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 Snowden

Communities Also Named Snowden ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Snowden.

There is one other community in Virginia that is also named Snowden.

Beyond Virginia, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, thirteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Amherst County
      • This Snowden is located in Amherst County and lies 149 miles [239.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Amherst County community of Snowden.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Siskiyou County
      • This Snowden is located in Siskiyou County and lies 2,375 miles [3,822.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Siskiyou County community of Snowden.
    • Colorado
      • Lake County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Snowden [Lake County].
    • Kentucky
      • Clark County
      • This Snowden is located in Clark County and lies 382 miles [614.8 km]<1> to the west of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Snowden.
    • Maryland
      • Frederick County
      • This Snowden is located in Frederick County and lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<1> to the north of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Frederick County community of Snowden.
    • Minnesota
      • Saint Louis County
      • This Snowden is located in Saint Louis County and lies 983 miles [1,582 km]<1> to the northwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Snowden.
    • Mississippi
      • Lauderdale County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Snowden [Lauderdale County].
    • Montana
      • Roosevelt County
      • This Snowden is located in Roosevelt County and lies 1,490 miles [2,397.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roosevelt County community of Snowden.
    • North Carolina
      • Currituck County
      • This Snowden is located in Currituck County and lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Currituck County community of Snowden.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Snowden is located in Allegheny County and lies 188 miles [302.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Snowden.
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Snowden lies 1,651 miles [2,657 km]<1> to the northwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston County
      • This Snowden is located in Charleston County and lies 435 miles [700.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charleston County community of Snowden.
    • Washington
      • Klickitat County
      • This Snowden is located in Klickitat County and lies 2,285 miles [3,677.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Klickitat County community of Snowden.
    • West Virginia
      • Lincoln County
      • This Snowden is located in Lincoln County and lies 266 miles [428.1 km]<1> to the west of the Snowden that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Snowden.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Snowden ...

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.

  • Cactus Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cactus Hill is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cactus Hill
  • Chapel Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Chapel Hill is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
  • Fair Haven
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Fair Haven is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
  • Fort Hunt
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Fort Hunt is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunt
  • Friendly Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Friendly Hills is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendly Hills
  • Gum Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Gum Springs is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
  • Harmony Hall
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Harmony Hall is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Hall
  • Hunter
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Hunter is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
  • Marlin Forest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Marlin Forest is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlin Forest
  • Memorial Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Memorial Heights is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Heights
  • Riverside Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Riverside Gardens is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Gardens
  • Riverview
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Riverview is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Riverwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverwood is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
    • Spring Bank
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Spring Bank is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bank
    • Sunnyview
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Sunnyview is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
    • Woodland Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Woodland Park is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
    • Yacht Haven
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Yacht Haven is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yacht Haven

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 84 miles [135.2 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Snowden to Richmond, with an average speed<3>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 11 miles [17.7 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,905 miles [9,503.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,609 miles [10,636.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,487 miles [7,221.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Snowden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Snowden could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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 Snowden 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 Snowden. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7304, Longitude: -77.0514       In this case, the coordinates for Snowden have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.908 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.435 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.784 degrees.