Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Scranton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Scranton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Scranton
- 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 Scranton:
- 42.740946, -78.834092
- 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 Scranton
- 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 Erie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Erie County
- Since Scranton is near Genesee County and also Cattaraugus County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Genesee County
- eBird sighting report for Cattaraugus 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 Scranton ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Scranton.
Within New York, the name Scranton is unique.
Beyond New York, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Scranton ...
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.
- Armor
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armor
- Armor is located in Erie County
- Big Tree
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Clover Bank
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clover Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Bank
- Clover Bank is located in Erie County
- Creekside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Duells Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duells Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duells Corner
- Duells Corner is located in Erie County
- Eden Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Valley
- Eden Valley is located in Erie County
- Forest Glen
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Glen
- Forest Glen is located in Erie County
- Lake View
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Lake View is located in Erie County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake View <5>
- Orchard Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Park
- Orchard Park is located in Erie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,116 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orchard Park <5>
- Water Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Water Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Water Valley is located in Erie County
- Woodlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
How Far From Scranton to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Scranton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Scranton and extending to:
- Buffalo, which is the Seat of Erie County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Scranton to Buffalo, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 257 miles [413.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 281 miles [452.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,807 miles [9,345.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,531 miles [10,510.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,407 miles [7,092.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Scranton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Erie County: www.erie.gov/
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.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- Scranton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Scranton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7409, Longitude: -78.8341 |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Scranton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Scranton 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Scranton 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 308.711 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.967 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.997 degrees. |