Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swansen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swansen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swansen
- 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 Swansen:
- 38.943722, -77.563603
- 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 Swansen
- 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 Loudoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Loudoun County
- Since Swansen is near Prince William County and also Prince George County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Prince William County
- eBird sighting report for Prince George 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 Swansen ...
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.
- Butler
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Crescent
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Dover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Evergreen Farms
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Farms
- Evergreen Farms is located in Prince William County
- Evergreen Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Mills
- Evergreen Mills is located in Loudoun County
- German
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Gilberts Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilberts Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilberts Corner
- Gilberts Corner is located in Loudoun County
- Hickory Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Prince William County
- Landmark
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Little Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Washington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Washington
- Little Washington is located in Loudoun County
- Royville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Snow Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Stoke
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Waterfall Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterfall Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterfall Village
- Waterfall Village is located in Prince William County
How Far From Swansen 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 Swansen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Swansen and extending to:
- Leesburg, which is the Seat of Loudoun County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Swansen to Leesburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 97 miles [156.1 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 28 miles [45.1 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,918 miles [9,524.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,624 miles [10,660.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,501 miles [7,243.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swansen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Loudoun County: www.co.loudoun.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Swansen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swansen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9437, Longitude: -77.5636 In this case, the coordinates for Swansen 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 Swansen 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 308.198 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.797 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.918 degrees. |