Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blue Ball, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Ball and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blue Ball
- 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 Blue Ball:
- 39.493392, -84.336330
- 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 Blue Ball
- 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 Butler County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Butler County
- Since Blue Ball is near Warren County and also Williams County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Warren County
- eBird sighting report for Williams 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 Blue Ball ...
We found three communities that share the name Blue Ball.
Within Ohio, the name Blue Ball is unique.
Beyond Ohio, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blue Ball ...
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.
- Balls Ferry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balls Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balls Ferry
- Balls Ferry is located in Butler County
- Eldorado
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Flat Iron
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Franklin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Green Acres
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Butler County
- Greentree Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentree Corners
- Greentree Corners is located in Warren County
- Hunter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Lemon
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Red Lion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lion
- Red Lion is located in Warren County
- Rose Lawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Blue Ball 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 Blue Ball to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Blue Ball and extending to:
- Hamilton, which is the Seat of Butler County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Blue Ball to Hamilton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 78 miles [125.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 392 miles [630.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,170 miles [9,929.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,894 miles [11,094.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,770 miles [7,676.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blue Ball. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Butler County: www.butlercountyohio.org/
The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Ball) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Ball. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4934, Longitude: -84.3363 In this case, the coordinates for Blue Ball have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Blue Ball 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 312.319 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.573 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.707 degrees. |