RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Indiana >> Shelby County >> Norristown >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Norristown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Norristown and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Norristown:
    • 39.367442, -85.762487
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Norristown
  • 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Since Norristown is near Bartholomew County and also Decatur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bartholomew County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Decatur 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Norristown

Communities Also Named Norristown ...

We found four communities that are also named Norristown.

Within Indiana, the name Norristown is unique.

Beyond Indiana, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Pope County
      • This Norristown is located in Pope County and lies 494 miles [795 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Norristown that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pope County community of Norristown.
    • Georgia
      • Emanuel County
      • This Norristown is located in Emanuel County and lies 507 miles [815.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Norristown that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Emanuel County community of Norristown.
    • Ohio
      • Carroll County
      • This Norristown is located in Carroll County and lies 269 miles [432.9 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Norristown that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Norristown.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Montgomery County
      • This Norristown is located in Montgomery County and lies 555 miles [893.2 km]<1> to the east of the Norristown that is located in Shelby County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Norristown.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Norristown ...

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.

How Far From Norristown 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 Norristown to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Norristown and extending to:

  • Shelbyville, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Norristown to Shelbyville, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 34 miles [54.7 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 468 miles [753.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 27 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,232 miles [10,029.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,959 miles [11,199.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,836 miles [7,782.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Norristown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Norristown to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Norristown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3674, Longitude: -85.7625    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.223 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.588 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.396 degrees.