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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Southwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Southwood 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 Southwood:
    • 38.713449, -77.105534
    • 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 Southwood
  • 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 Southwood 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 Southwood

Communities Also Named Southwood ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Southwood.

Within Virginia, the name Southwood is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Southwood is located in Jefferson County and lies 649 miles [1,044.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Southwood.
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Southwood is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 696 miles [1,120.1 km] to the west southwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Southwood.
    • California
      • San Mateo 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 California community of Southwood [San Mateo County].
    • Colorado
      • Arapahoe 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 Southwood [Arapahoe County].
    • Delaware
      • New Castle County
      • This Southwood is located in New Castle County and lies 104 miles [167.4 km]<1> to the northeast of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the New Castle County community of Southwood.
    • Florida
      • Orange 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 Florida community of Southwood [Orange County].
    • Indiana
      • LaPorte 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 Indiana community of Southwood [LaPorte County].
      • Vigo County
      • This Southwood is located in Vigo County and lies 553 miles [890 km]<1> to the west of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vigo County community of Southwood.
    • Louisiana
      • Ascension Parish
      • This Southwood is located in Ascension Parish and lies 985 miles [1,585.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ascension Parish community of Southwood.
      • Iberville Parish
      • 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 Louisiana community of Southwood [Iberville Parish].
    • Maryland
      • Carroll County
      • This Southwood is located in Carroll County and lies 59 miles [95 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Southwood.
    • New York
      • Onondaga County
      • This Southwood is located in Onondaga County and lies 300 miles [482.8 km]<1> to the north of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Southwood.
    • North Carolina
      • Lenoir County
      • This Southwood is located in Lenoir County and lies 243 miles [391.1 km]<1> to the south of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lenoir County community of Southwood.
    • Ontario
      • This Southwood lies 445 miles [716.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
    • South Carolina
      • Aiken County
      • This Southwood is located in Aiken County and lies 442 miles [711.3 km]<1> to the southwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aiken County community of Southwood.
    • Utah
      • Davis County
      • This Southwood is located in Davis County and lies 1,844 miles [2,967.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davis County community of Southwood.
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Southwood is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,840 miles [2,961.2 km] to the west northwest of the Southwood that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Southwood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Southwood ...

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
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cactus Hill is located in Prince George's County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cactus Hill
  • Fort Hunt
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Hunt is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunt
  • Gum Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Gum Springs is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
  • Hayfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayfield is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
  • Hunter
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hunter is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
  • Riverside Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Riverside Gardens is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Gardens
  • Riverwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Riverwood is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
  • Sunnyview
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Sunnyview is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
  • Woodland Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Woodland Park is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
  • Woodlawn
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Woodlawn is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
  • Yacht Haven
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Yacht Haven is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yacht Haven

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

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 82 miles [132 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Southwood 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 13 miles [20.9 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take 6 hours.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,908 miles [9,508 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,613 miles [10,642.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,490 miles [7,226 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Southwood) 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 Southwood 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 Southwood 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 Southwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7134, Longitude: -77.1055       In this case, the coordinates for Southwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.941 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.469 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.814 degrees.