RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Stafford County >> Somerset Landing >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Somerset Landing, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Somerset Landing 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 Somerset Landing:
    • 38.428400, -77.403900
    • 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 Somerset Landing
  • 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 Stafford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stafford County
    • Since Somerset Landing is near Charles County and also Prince William County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Charles County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince William 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 Somerset Landing

Curious and Interesting Names Near Somerset Landing ...

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.

  • Aqua Villa
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Aqua Villa is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aqua Villa
  • Bells Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Bells Run is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Run
  • Bowers
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Bowers is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers
  • Coal Landing
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Coal Landing is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Landing
  • Cobblestone
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cobblestone is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobblestone
  • Greenridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Greenridge is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenridge
  • Harris
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Harris is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
  • Quail Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Quail Run is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
  • Raspberry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Raspberry is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raspberry
  • Rivendell
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Rivendell is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivendell
  • Settlers Landing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Settlers Landing is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settlers Landing
  • Shadow Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Shadow Woods is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Woods
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Stone River
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Stone River is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone River
    • Summerwind
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Summerwind is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwind
    • Summerwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Summerwood is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwood
    • Twin Oaks
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Twin Oaks is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Oaks
    • Vintage Oaks
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Vintage Oaks is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Oaks

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Somerset Landing and extending to:

  • Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies just to the South Southwest.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 61 miles [98.2 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Somerset Landing to Richmond, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 37 miles [59.5 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,933 miles [9,548.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,637 miles [10,681.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,514 miles [7,264.6 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Somerset Landing) 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 Somerset Landing 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 Somerset Landing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4284, Longitude: -77.4039       In this case, the coordinates for Somerset Landing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.133 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.644 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.046 degrees.