Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Forks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Forks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West 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 West Forks:
- 45.396995, -70.036175
- 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 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 West 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near West 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.
- Blair
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest) - Greenville Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville Junction
- Greenville Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville Junction <2>
- Jackman
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackman
- Jackman is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 813 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackman <2>
- Jackman Mill ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackman Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackman Mill
- Jackman Mill is located in Somerset County
- Long Pond
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Pond
- Long Pond is located in Somerset County
- 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moose Brook
- Moose Brook is located in Piscataquis County
- Moose River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moose River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moose River
- Moose River is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Moosehead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Pleasant Pond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Pond
- Pleasant Pond is located in Somerset County
- Three Streams
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Streams have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Streams
- Three Streams is located in Somerset County
- Troutdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
How Far From West Forks 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 Forks 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 Forks and extending to:
- Skowhegan, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 46 miles [74 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from West Forks to Skowhegan, with an average speed<4> 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 most of two days.
- Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 76 miles [122.3 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 most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 573 miles [922.2 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,346 miles [8,603.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,064 miles [9,759.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,939 miles [6,339.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West 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> | 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Forks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Forks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3970, Longitude: -70.0362 In this case, the coordinates for West Forks 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 Forks 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 302.835 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 298.817 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 298.443 degrees. |