RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Monroe County >> Laurel Branch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Laurel Branch:
    • 37.530681, -80.349781
    • 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 Laurel Branch
  • 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Monroe County
    • Since Laurel Branch is near Craig County and also Alleghany County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Craig County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alleghany 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 Laurel Branch

Communities Also Named Laurel Branch ...

We found three communities that are also named Laurel Branch.

Within West Virginia, the name Laurel Branch is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Jackson County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Jackson County and lies 205 miles [329.9 km]<1> to the west of the Laurel Branch that is located in Monroe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Laurel Branch.
    • Maryland
      • Charles County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Charles County and lies 197 miles [317 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Laurel Branch that is located in Monroe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charles County community of Laurel Branch.
    • Virginia
      • Floyd County
      • This Laurel Branch is located in Floyd County and lies 42 miles [67.6 km]<1> to the south of the Laurel Branch that is located in Monroe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Floyd County community of Laurel Branch.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Branch ...

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.

  • Centennial
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Centennial is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
  • Craig Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Craig Springs is located in Craig County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig Springs
  • Crimson Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Crimson Springs is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crimson Springs
  • Gap Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Gates
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Gates is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates
  • Gunn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Gunn is located in Craig County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
  • Maggie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Maggie is located in Craig County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maggie
  • Paint Bank
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sinking Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sinking Creek is located in Craig County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinking Creek
  • Sweet Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sweet Springs is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Springs

How Far From Laurel Branch 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 Laurel Branch to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Laurel Branch and extending to:

  • Union, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Laurel Branch to Union, 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.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 203 miles [326.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,097 miles [9,812.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,804 miles [10,950 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,680 miles [7,531.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Laurel Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Laurel Branch to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Laurel Branch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5307, Longitude: -80.3498       In this case, the coordinates for Laurel Branch have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.908 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.532 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.586 degrees.