Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shoals, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shoals and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shoals
- 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 Shoals:
- 38.327028, -82.475155
- 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 Shoals
- 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 Wayne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- Since Shoals is near Cabell County and also Boyd County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cabell County
- eBird sighting report for Boyd 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 Shoals ...
We found seven communities that share the name Shoals.
Within West Virginia, the name Shoals is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shoals ...
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.
- Buffalo Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Creek
- Buffalo Creek is located in Wayne County
- Centerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Wayne County
- Chancellor Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chancellor Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor Hills
- Chancellor Hills is located in Cabell County
- Dickson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Garden Farms
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Farms
- Garden Farms is located in Cabell County
- Glenroy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Harveytown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harveytown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
- Harveytown is located in Cabell County
- Lockdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Meadow Haven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Haven
- Meadow Haven is located in Wayne County
- Neal
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Park Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Hills
- Park Hills is located in Cabell County
- Savage Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savage Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Branch
- Savage Branch is located in Boyd County (KY)
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Spring Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Wayne County
- Sweet Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Walnut Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Park
- Walnut Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Willowvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willowvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowvale
- Willowvale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Spring Valley
How Far From Shoals 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 Shoals to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shoals and extending to:
- Wayne, which is the Seat of Wayne County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Shoals to Charleston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 296 miles [476.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,149 miles [9,895.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,865 miles [11,048.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,740 miles [7,628.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shoals. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Shoals) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shoals. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3270, Longitude: -82.4752 In this case, the coordinates for Shoals have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Shoals could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 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 Shoals 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 311.175 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.097 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.236 degrees. |