Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Allen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Allen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Allen
- 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 Allen:
- 42.380344, -78.038617
- 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 Allen
- 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 Allegany County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Allegany County
- Since West Allen is near Livingston County and also Wyoming County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Livingston County
- eBird sighting report for Wyoming 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 Allen ...
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.
- Aristotle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aristotle
- Aristotle is located in Allegany County
- Centerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Allegany County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centerville <2>
- Gas Spring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gas Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gas Spring
- Gas Spring is located in Allegany County
- Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Hillcrest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Hunt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
- Hunt is located in Livingston County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunt <2>
- Hunt Hollow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunt Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Hollow
- Hunt Hollow is located in Livingston County
- Irish Settlement
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irish Settlement have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Settlement
- Irish Settlement is located in Allegany County
- Marshall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Rockville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
How Far From West Allen 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 West Allen 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 Allen and extending to:
- Belmont, which is the Seat of Allegany County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from West Allen to Belmont, with an average speed<4> 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 218 miles [350.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 246 miles [395.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,790 miles [9,318.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,512 miles [10,480 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,387 miles [7,060.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Allen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Allegany County: www.alleganyco.com/
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Allen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Allen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3803, Longitude: -78.0386 In this case, the coordinates for West Allen 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 Allen 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 308.241 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.38 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.769 degrees. |