Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Slab Fork, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Slab Fork and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Slab Fork
- 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 Slab Fork:
- 37.686982, -81.330536
- 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 Slab Fork
- 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 Raleigh County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Raleigh County
- Since Slab Fork is near Wyoming County and also Mercer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wyoming County
- eBird sighting report for Mercer 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 Slab Fork ...
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.
- Affinity
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Big Stick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Glen View
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Glen White
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
- Glen White is located in Raleigh County
- Glen White Junction ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen White Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White Junction
- Glen White Junction is located in Raleigh County
- Helen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Helen is located in Raleigh County
- Hoohoo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Jenny Gap ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Lester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Maple Meadow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Meadow
- Maple Meadow is located in Raleigh County
- Mead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Polk Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Stonecoal Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonecoal Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecoal Junction
- Stonecoal Junction is located in Raleigh County
- Surveyor
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Winding Gulf
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winding Gulf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winding Gulf
- Winding Gulf is located in Raleigh County
- Maple Meadow
How Far From Slab Fork 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 Slab Fork to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Slab Fork and extending to:
- Beckley, which is the Seat of Raleigh County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Slab Fork to Beckley, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 48 miles [77.2 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 247 miles [397.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,131 miles [9,866.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,841 miles [11,009.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,717 miles [7,591.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Slab Fork. 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> | 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> | 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- Slab Fork) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Slab Fork. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6870, Longitude: -81.3305 |
| <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 Slab Fork to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.491 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.221 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.946 degrees. |