Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Solitude, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Solitude and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Solitude
- 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 Solitude:
- 37.563746, -79.606427
- 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 Solitude
- 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 Botetourt County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Botetourt County
- Since Solitude is near Rockbridge County and also Bedford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rockbridge County
- eBird sighting report for Bedford 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 Solitude ...
We found ten communities that share the name Solitude.
Within Virginia, the name Solitude is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Pemiscot County
- Although located in Pemiscot County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pemiscot County community of Solitude.
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Grand County
- This Solitude is located in Grand County and lies 1,644 miles [2,645.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Solitude that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grand County community of Solitude.
- Salt Lake County
- This Solitude is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,717 miles [2,763.2 km] to the west northwest of the Solitude that is located in Botetourt County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Solitude.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Solitude ...
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.
- Alpine
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Fork Mountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fork Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Mountain
- Fork Mountain is located in Botetourt County
- Greyledge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Harvey
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Natural Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natural Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natural Bridge
- Natural Bridge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natural Bridge <5>
- Natural Bridge Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natural Bridge Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natural Bridge Station
- Natural Bridge Station is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natural Bridge Station <5>
- Red Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Rocky Point
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Springwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
How Far From Solitude 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 Solitude to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Solitude and extending to:
- Fincastle, which is the Seat of Botetourt County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Solitude to Fincastle, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 118 miles [189.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 167 miles [268.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,064 miles [9,759.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,769 miles [10,893.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,646 miles [7,477 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Solitude. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Botetourt County: www.co.botetourt.va.us/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Solitude) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Solitude. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5637, Longitude: -79.6064 In this case, the coordinates for Solitude have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Solitude 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> | 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 Solitude, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Solitude to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.467 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.033 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.266 degrees. |