Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swan Pond, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swan Pond and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swan Pond
- 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 Swan Pond:
- 39.469290, -77.877239
- 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 Swan Pond
- 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 Berkeley County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Berkeley County
- Since Swan Pond is near Jefferson County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Swan Pond ...
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.
- Cedar Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cedar Grove is located in Washington County (MD)
- Files Crossroad
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Files Crossroad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Files Crossroad
- Files Crossroad is located in Berkeley County
- Heatherfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heatherfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherfield
- Heatherfield is located in Jefferson County
- Irish Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irish Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Hill
- Irish Hill is located in Berkeley County
- Martinsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Martinsburg is located in Berkeley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,514 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinsburg <2>
- Mount Pleasant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Jefferson County
- Rose Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Scrabble
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Shepherdstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shepherdstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherdstown
- Shepherdstown is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,922 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shepherdstown <2>
How Far From Swan Pond 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 Swan Pond to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Swan Pond and extending to:
- Martinsburg, which is the Seat of Berkeley County, lies just to the West.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 215 miles [346 km]<3> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Swan Pond to Charleston, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 59 miles [95 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,908 miles [9,508 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,618 miles [10,650.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,494 miles [7,232.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swan Pond. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Berkeley County: www.berkeleycountycomm.org/
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> | 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Swan Pond) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swan Pond. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4693, Longitude: -77.8772 |
| <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 Swan Pond 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 308.353 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.054 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.853 degrees. |