RoadsideThoughts
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Pool, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Pool 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 Big Pool:
    • 39.623707, -78.015834
    • 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 Big Pool
  • 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 Big Pool ...

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.

  • Big Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Big Spring is located in Washington County
  • Cherry Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cherry Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
    • Cherry Run is located in Morgan County (WV)
  • Clear Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ernstville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ernstville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernstville
    • Ernstville is located in Washington County
  • Four Locks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Locks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Locks
    • Four Locks is located in Washington County
  • Georgetown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
    • Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
  • Green Spring Furnace
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Spring Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Spring Furnace
    • Green Spring Furnace is located in Washington County
  • Greenspring Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenspring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenspring Hill
    • Greenspring Hill is located in Washington County
  • Hedgesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Indian Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
    • Indian Springs is located in Washington County
  • Little Georgetown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
    • Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
  • Mountain Vistas
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Vistas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Vistas
    • Mountain Vistas is located in Washington County
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Park Head
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Head have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Head
      • Park Head is located in Washington County
    • Runners Ferry
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runners Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runners Ferry
      • Runners Ferry is located in Berkeley County (WV)
    • Sleepy Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sleepy Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Creek
      • Sleepy Creek is located in Morgan County (WV)
    • Two Locks
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Two Locks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Locks
      • Two Locks is located in Washington County

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Big Pool and extending to:

  • Hagerstown, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Big Pool to Hagerstown, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 92 miles [148.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 72 miles [115.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 4 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> 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).<7>
  • 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).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,494 miles [7,232.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Pool. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Washington County: www.washco-md.net/

The official website for State of Maryland: https://www.maryland.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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Big Pool) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Pool. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6237, Longitude: -78.0158       In this case, the coordinates for Big Pool have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Big Pool 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 308.427 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.161 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.854 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025