Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sparkling Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sparkling Springs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sparkling Springs
- 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 Sparkling Springs:
- 38.551510, -78.951696
- 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 Sparkling Springs
- 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 Rockingham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rockingham County
- Since Sparkling Springs is near Harrisonburg City and also Augusta County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Harrisonburg City
- eBird sighting report for Augusta 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sparkling Springs ...
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.
- Clover Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clover Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Hill
- Clover Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Fulks Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulks Run
- Fulks Run is located in Rockingham County
- Green Mount
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Mount have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Mount
- Green Mount is located in Rockingham County
- Hightown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Lilly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Lilly is located in Rockingham County
- New Erection
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Erection
- New Erection is located in Rockingham County
- Rushville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Singers Glen
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singers Glen
- Singers Glen is located in Rockingham County
- Union Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Springs
- Union Springs is located in Rockingham County
- Yankeetown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yankeetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankeetown
- Yankeetown is located in Rockingham County
How Far From Sparkling Springs 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 Sparkling Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Sparkling Springs and extending to:
- Harrisonburg, which is the Seat of Rockingham County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 107 miles [172.2 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Sparkling Springs 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 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 105 miles [169 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,993 miles [9,644.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,701 miles [10,784.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,578 miles [7,367.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sparkling Springs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rockingham County: www.co.rockingham.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sparkling Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sparkling Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5515, Longitude: -78.9517 In this case, the coordinates for Sparkling Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Sparkling Springs 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 309.043 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.698 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.65 degrees. |