Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in The Forks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The Forks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for The Forks
- 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 The Forks:
- 45.337011, -69.968599
- 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 The Forks
- 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Somerset County
- Since The Forks is near Piscataquis County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Piscataquis County
- eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 The Forks ...
We found ten communities that share the name The Forks.
Within Maine, the name The Forks is unique.
Beyond Maine, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, eight are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Kentucky
- New Brunswick
- This The Forks lies 218 miles [350.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the The Forks that is located in Somerset County.
- New York
- Cattaraugus County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of The Forks [Cattaraugus County].
- Erie County
- This The Forks is located in Erie County and lies 466 miles [750 km]<1> to the west southwest of the The Forks that is located in Somerset County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of The Forks.
- Ontario
- This The Forks lies 580 miles [933.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the The Forks that is located in Somerset County.
- Pennsylvania
- Centre County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of The Forks [Centre County].
- Columbia County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of The Forks [Columbia County].
- Washington
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near The Forks ...
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.
- Deadwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Greenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,628 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <4>
- Greenville Junction
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville Junction
- Greenville Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville Junction <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Greenville Junction
- From The Forks to Greenville Junction
- Long Pond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Pond
- Long Pond is located in Somerset County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Long Pond
- From The Forks to Long Pond
- Lower Shirley Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Shirley Corner
- Lower Shirley Corner is located in Piscataquis County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Lower Shirley Corner
- From The Forks to Lower Shirley Corner
- Moose Brook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moose Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moose Brook
- Moose Brook is located in Piscataquis County
- Moosehead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Moosehead. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosehead
- Moosehead is located in Piscataquis County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Moosehead
- From The Forks to Moosehead
- Moscow
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Moscow is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Moscow
- From The Forks to Moscow
- Parrot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east) - Pleasant Pond
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Pond
- Pleasant Pond is located in Somerset County
- Three Streams
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Streams have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Streams
- Three Streams is located in Somerset County
- Troutdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
How Far From The Forks 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 The Forks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in The Forks and extending to:
- Skowhegan, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 41 miles [66 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from The Forks to Skowhegan, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 71 miles [114.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 572 miles [920.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,345 miles [8,601.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,063 miles [9,757.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,938 miles [6,337.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for The Forks. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- The Forks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in The Forks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3370, Longitude: -69.9686 |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 The Forks 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 The Forks 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 302.804 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.772 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 298.444 degrees. |