Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thompson Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thompson Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thompson Valley
- 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 Thompson Valley:
- 37.078739, -81.548277
- 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 Thompson Valley
- 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 Tazewell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell County
- Since Thompson Valley is near Smyth County and also McDowell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Smyth County
- eBird sighting report for McDowell 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 Thompson Valley ...
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.
- Drytown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Five Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Fourway
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Frog Level
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frog Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Level
- Frog Level is located in Tazewell County
- Gap Store
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Joe Neets
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Liberty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Maxwell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Maxwell
- From Thompson Valley to Maxwell
- River Jack
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Jack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Jack
- River Jack is located in Tazewell County
- Rockhouse
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Stony Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Ridge
- Stony Ridge is located in Tazewell County
How Far From Thompson Valley 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 Thompson Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Thompson Valley and extending to:
- Tazewell, which is the Seat of Tazewell County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 228 miles [366.9 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Thompson Valley to Richmond, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 275 miles [442.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,167 miles [9,924.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,876 miles [11,065.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,752 miles [7,647.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thompson Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 '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- Thompson Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thompson Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0787, Longitude: -81.5483 In this case, the coordinates for Thompson Valley 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 Thompson Valley 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 310.629 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.289 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.228 degrees. |