Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Surber, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Surber and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Surber
- 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 Surber:
- 37.631240, -79.942827
- 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 Surber
- 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 Surber is near Craig County and also Alleghany County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Craig County
- eBird sighting report for Alleghany 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 Surber ...
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.
- Boiling Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boiling Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
- Boiling Spring is located in Alleghany County
- Craigs Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craigs Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Creek
- Craigs Creek is located in Craig County
- Eagle Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
- Eagle Rock is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Rock <2>
- Flatwoods
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Gala
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Hooks Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hooks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooks Mill
- Hooks Mill is located in Alleghany County
- Kyles Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kyles Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyles Mills
- Kyles Mills is located in Botetourt County
- Lignite
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Marshalltown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshalltown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
- Marshalltown is located in Craig County
- Rich Patch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Rich Patch Mines
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rich Patch Mines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch Mines
- Rich Patch Mines is located in Alleghany County
- Salisbury
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Virginia Mineral Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mineral Springs
- Virginia Mineral Springs is located in Craig County
How Far From Surber 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 Surber to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Surber and extending to:
- Fincastle, which is the Seat of Botetourt County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Surber to Fincastle, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 137 miles [220.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 180 miles [289.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,075 miles [9,776.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,782 miles [10,914.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,658 miles [7,496.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Surber. 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> | 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Surber) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Surber. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6312, Longitude: -79.9428 In this case, the coordinates for Surber have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Surber to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.664 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.268 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.383 degrees. |