Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Dyke, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Dyke and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Dyke
- 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 Van Dyke:
- 37.112336, -81.721224
- 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 Van Dyke
- 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 Van Dyke is near McDowell County and also Russell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McDowell County
- eBird sighting report for Russell 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
Communities Also Named Van Dyke ...
We found two communities that share the name Van Dyke.
Within Virginia, the name Van Dyke is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Michigan
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Dyke ...
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.
- Busthead
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Cedar Bluff
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Cedar Bluff is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 998 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Bluff <4>
- Gap Store
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Green Place
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Place
- Green Place is located in Tazewell County
- Indian
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Jewell Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Ridge
- Jewell Ridge is located in Tazewell County
- Liberty
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Maiden Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maiden Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maiden Spring
- Maiden Spring is located in Tazewell County
- Maxwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Pleasant Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Pounding Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pounding Mill
- Pounding Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pounding Mill <4>
- Rockhouse
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Seaboard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Sulphur Spring ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Spring
- Sulphur Spring is located in Tazewell County
How Far From Van Dyke 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 Van Dyke to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Dyke and extending to:
- Tazewell, which is the Seat of Tazewell County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Van Dyke to Tazewell, with an average speed<5> 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 237 miles [381.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 283 miles [455.4 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,173 miles [9,934.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,882 miles [11,075.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,758 miles [7,657.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Dyke. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Van Dyke, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Van Dyke) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Dyke. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1123, Longitude: -81.7212 In this case, the coordinates for Van Dyke have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Van Dyke to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.732 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.412 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.29 degrees. |