Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Melcher, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Melcher and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Melcher
- 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 Melcher:
- 39.788928, -87.347238
- 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 Melcher
- 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 Parke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Parke County
- Since West Melcher is near Vermillion County and also Edgar County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Vermillion County
- eBird sighting report for Edgar 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 West Melcher ...
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.
- Arabia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Coke Oven Hollow
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coke Oven Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke Oven Hollow
- Coke Oven Hollow is located in Parke County
- Early Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Early Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Early Station
- Early Station is located in Vermillion County
- Highland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Highland is located in Vermillion County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Highland <2>
- Montezuma
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montezuma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Montezuma is located in Parke County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 977 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montezuma <2>
- Montezuma Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montezuma Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma Station
- Montezuma Station is located in Vermillion County
- Pottertown ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pottertown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottertown
- Pottertown is located in Parke County
- Rockville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Rockville is located in Parke County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockville <2>
- Summit Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Grove
- Summit Grove is located in Vermillion County
How Far From West Melcher 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 Melcher to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in West Melcher and extending to:
- Rockville, which is the Seat of Parke County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 63 miles [101.4 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from West Melcher to Indianapolis, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 553 miles [890 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 32 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,272 miles [10,093.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,004 miles [11,271.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,883 miles [7,858.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Melcher. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Melcher) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Melcher. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7889, Longitude: -87.3472 In this case, the coordinates for West Melcher have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 West Melcher 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 314.244 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.816 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.017 degrees. |