Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Scranton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Scranton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Scranton
- 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 Scranton:
- 36.451674, -116.503853
- 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 Scranton
- 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 Inyo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Inyo County
- Since Scranton is near Nye County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Nye 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 Scranton ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Scranton.
Within California, the name Scranton is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Scranton ...
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.
- Badwater ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Crystal
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal
- Crystal is located in Nye County (NV)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal <5>
- Death Valley Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Death Valley Junction
- Death Valley Junction is located in Inyo County
- Former names for Death Valley Junction:
- Amargosa
- Death Valley
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Death Valley Junction <5>
- Furnace Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Creek
- Furnace Creek is located in Inyo County
- Furnace Creek has also been known as:
- Furnace Creek Ranch
- Greenwater ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwater have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwater
- Greenwater is located in Inyo County
- Harmony Borax Works ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Borax Works
- Harmony Borax Works is located in Inyo County
- Former name for Harmony Borax Works:
- Greenland
- Indian Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Inyo County
- Roses Well ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roses Well have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses Well
- Roses Well is located in Nye County (NV)
How Far From Scranton 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 Scranton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Scranton once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Scranton and extending to:
- Independence, which is the Seat of Inyo County, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could drive a straight line from Scranton to Independence, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 309 miles [497.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,146 miles [3,453.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 84 days and walking would take 122 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,375 miles [11,868.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,144 miles [13,106.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,133 miles [9,870.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Inyo County: www.inyocounty.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Scranton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Scranton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4517, Longitude: -116.5039 |
| <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 Scranton 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> | 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 Scranton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Scranton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 335.134 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.969 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.628 degrees. |