Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Whitetop, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Whitetop and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Whitetop
- 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 Whitetop:
- 36.601422, -81.625980
- 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 Whitetop
- 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 Grayson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Grayson County
- Since Whitetop is near Washington County and also Ashe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- eBird sighting report for Ashe 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 Whitetop ...
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.
- Apple Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Big Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Creek Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek Junction
- Creek Junction is located in Washington County
- Eureka
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Flatwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Green Cove
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Green Cove is located in Washington County
- Laurel Bloomery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Bloomery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bloomery
- Laurel Bloomery is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurel Bloomery <2>
- Listening Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Listening Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listening Rock
- Listening Rock is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Masada
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Sugar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sugar Creek is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Tuckerdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuckerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckerdale
- Tuckerdale is located in Ashe County (NC)
How Far From Whitetop 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 Whitetop to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Whitetop and extending to:
- Independence, which is the Seat of Grayson County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Whitetop to Independence, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 239 miles [384.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 296 miles [476.4 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,192 miles [9,965.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,899 miles [11,102.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,775 miles [7,684.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Whitetop. 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> | 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Whitetop) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Whitetop. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6014, Longitude: -81.6260 |
| <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 Whitetop 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 310.678 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.276 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.406 degrees. |