Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West
- 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 West:
- 39.678413, -80.669812
- 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 West
- 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 Wetzel County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wetzel County
- Since West is near Marshall County and also Monroe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marshall County
- eBird sighting report for Monroe 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 West ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name West.
Within West Virginia, the name West is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Holmes County
- This West is located in Holmes County and lies 674 miles [1,084.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the West that is located in Wetzel County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holmes County community of West.
- Lauderdale County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of West [Lauderdale County].
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Davidson County
- This West is located in Davidson County and lies 412 miles [663 km]<1> to the west southwest of the West that is located in Wetzel County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davidson County community of West.
- Gibson County
- This West is located in Gibson County and lies 514 miles [827.2 km] to the west southwest of the West that is located in Wetzel County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gibson County community of West.
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near West ...
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.
- Andy ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Dean
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Five Points ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Wetzel County
- Four Mile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Green Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Green Hill is located in Wetzel County
- Halls Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halls Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Mills
- Halls Mills is located in Wetzel County
- Howard ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Knob Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Lynn Camp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Marion
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Peabody
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Rockport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Uniontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Uniontown is located in Wetzel County
- Wheat
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From West 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 West to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in West and extending to:
- New Martinsville, which is the Seat of Wetzel County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from West to New Martinsville, with an average speed<5> 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 105 miles [169 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 201 miles [323.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,015 miles [9,680.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,731 miles [10,832.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,607 miles [7,414.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West. 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' (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- West) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6784, Longitude: -80.6698 In this case, the coordinates for West have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about West, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 West 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 West to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.035 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.998 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.998 degrees. |