Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alcoa Center, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alcoa Center and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alcoa Center
- 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 Alcoa Center:
- 40.538400, -79.645045
- 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 Alcoa Center
- 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
- Since Alcoa Center is near Allegheny County and also Armstrong County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- eBird sighting report for Armstrong 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 Alcoa Center ...
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.
- Apollo
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apollo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
- Apollo is located in Armstrong County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <2>
- Arnold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Arnold is located in Westmoreland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,790 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <2>
- Camp Jo-Ann
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Jo-Ann have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Jo-Ann
- Camp Jo-Ann is located in Westmoreland County
- Cherry Lane
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Lane
- Cherry Lane is located in Armstrong County
- Edgecliff
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Franklin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
- Holiday Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Park
- Holiday Park is located in Allegheny County
- Leechburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- New Texas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Oklahoma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Orchard Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Pleasant View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pleasant View is located in Armstrong County
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Plum
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <2>
- Poke Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - River View
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- River View is located in Armstrong County
- Vandergrift
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vandergrift have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandergrift
- Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,832 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vandergrift <2>
- Plum
How Far From Alcoa Center to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Alcoa Center to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alcoa Center and extending to:
- Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alcoa Center to Greensburg, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 146 miles [235 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 178 miles [286.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,935 miles [9,551.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,653 miles [10,707 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,528 miles [7,287.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alcoa Center. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Westmoreland County: www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alcoa Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alcoa Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5384, Longitude: -79.6450 In this case, the coordinates for Alcoa Center have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Alcoa Center 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 309.365 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.367 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.23 degrees. |