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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Spring Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spring Ridge 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 Spring Ridge:
    • 38.953722, -77.281927
    • 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 Spring Ridge
  • 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 Spring Ridge is near Montgomery County and also Fairfax City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fairfax City
  • 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 Spring Ridge

Communities Also Named Spring Ridge ...

We found seven communities that are also named Spring Ridge.

Within Virginia, the name Spring Ridge is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Louisiana
      • Caddo Parish
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish and lies 1,039 miles [1,672.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caddo Parish community of Spring Ridge.
      • Catahoula Parish
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Catahoula Parish and lies 959 miles [1,543.4 km] to the west southwest of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Catahoula Parish community of Spring Ridge.
      • Sabine Parish
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Sabine Parish and lies 1,037 miles [1,668.9 km] to the west southwest of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sabine Parish community of Spring Ridge.
    • Maryland
      • Frederick County
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Frederick County and lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<1> to the north of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Frederick County community of Spring Ridge.
      • Saint Mary's County
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Saint Mary's County and lies 70 miles [112.7 km] to the southeast of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary's County community of Spring Ridge.
    • Mississippi
      • Hinds County
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Hinds County and lies 867 miles [1,395.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hinds County community of Spring Ridge.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Berks County
      • This Spring Ridge is located in Berks County and lies 118 miles [189.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Spring Ridge that is located in Fairfax County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berks County community of Spring Ridge.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Spring Ridge ...

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.

  • Cinnamon Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Cinnamon Creek is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinnamon Creek
  • Four Corners
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Four Corners is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Great Falls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Great Falls is located in Montgomery County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Falls
  • Hickory Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hickory Creek is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
  • Hickory Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Run is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Run
  • Peacock
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Peacock is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock
  • Pinecrest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Pinecrest is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinecrest
  • Springvale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Springvale is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springvale
  • Sun Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Sun Valley is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
  • Sunset Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sunset Hills is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
  • Wolf Trap
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Wolf Trap is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Trap

How Far From Spring Ridge to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Spring Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Spring Ridge to Richmond, with an average speed<2>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 three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 13 miles [20.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take 6 hours.
  • The shortest distance<3> 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).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,611 miles [10,639.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,488 miles [7,222.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Spring Ridge) 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 Spring Ridge 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 Spring Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9537, Longitude: -77.2819       In this case, the coordinates for Spring Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.031 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.608 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.796 degrees.