Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Porterstown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Porterstown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Porterstown
- 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 Porterstown:
- 39.465933, -77.713048
- 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 Porterstown
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Porterstown is near Frederick County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Frederick County
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Porterstown ...
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.
- Appletown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Chestnut Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
- Chestnut Grove is located in Washington County
- Dogtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Flickersville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flickersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flickersville
- Flickersville is located in Washington County
- Greystone Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greystone Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone Hills
- Greystone Hills is located in Washington County
- Horse Shoe Bend
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horse Shoe Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Bend
- Horse Shoe Bend is located in Washington County
- Locust Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
- Locust Grove is located in Washington County
- Mousetown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Park Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Red Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Springvale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springvale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springvale
- Springvale is located in Washington County
How Far From Porterstown 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 Porterstown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Porterstown and extending to:
- Hagerstown, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Porterstown to Hagerstown, 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.
- Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 73 miles [117.5 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 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 53 miles [85.3 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,902 miles [9,498.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,611 miles [10,639.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,487 miles [7,221.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Porterstown. 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: 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Porterstown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Porterstown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4659, Longitude: -77.7130 In this case, the coordinates for Porterstown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Porterstown to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.255 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.942 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.783 degrees. |