Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in West Raven, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Raven and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for West Raven

• 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 West Raven:
  • 37.084279, -81.862342
  • 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 West Raven

• 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 Russell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Russell County
  • Since West Raven is near Tazewell County and also Buchanan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Tazewell County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Buchanan 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for West Raven

Curious and Interesting Names Near West Raven ...

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.

• Cedar Bluff
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Cedar Bluff is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 998 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Bluff <1>
• Dye
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Dye is located in Russell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
• Flatrock
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Flatrock is located in Russell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock
• Fork Ridge
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Fork Ridge is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Ridge
• Hickory Junction
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hickory Junction is located in Russell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Junction
• Indian
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Indian is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian
• Lynn Spring
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Lynn Spring is located in Russell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Spring
• Paintlick
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
• Premier
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Premier is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Premier
• Raven
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Raven is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
• Red Ash
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
• Seaboard
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Seaboard is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaboard
• Sulphur Spring ‑ Historic
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sulphur Spring is located in Tazewell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Spring
• Swords Creek
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Swords Creek is located in Russell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swords Creek
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swords Creek <1>

How Far From West Raven to ...

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in West Raven and extending to:

• Lebanon, which is the Seat of Russell County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from West Raven to Lebanon, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 245 miles [394.3 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 290 miles [466.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,180 miles [9,945.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,889 miles [11,086.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,765 miles [7,668.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'