Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Raccoon Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Raccoon Island and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Raccoon Island
- 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 Raccoon Island:
- 38.719527, -82.195980
- 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 Raccoon Island
- 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 Gallia County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gallia County
- Since Raccoon Island is near Mason County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mason County
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Raccoon Island ...
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.
- Angel
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Apple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Apple Grove is located in Mason County (WV)
- Eureka
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Evans Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evans Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Heights
- Evans Heights is located in Gallia County
- Fivemile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Green Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Gallia County
- Hedgewood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Holiday Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
- Holiday Hills is located in Gallia County
- Leaper
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Meadow Look
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Look have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Look
- Meadow Look is located in Gallia County
- Moody ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Orchard Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hill
- Orchard Hill is located in Gallia County
- Pondlick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Willow Woods
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Woods
- Willow Woods is located in Gallia County
How Far From Raccoon Island 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 Raccoon Island to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Raccoon Island and extending to:
- Gallipolis, which is the Seat of Gallia County, lies just to the North.
- Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 96 miles [154.5 km]<3> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Raccoon Island to Columbus, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 277 miles [445.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,120 miles [9,849.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,836 miles [11,001.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,712 miles [7,583.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Raccoon Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Gallia County: www.gallianet.net/
The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.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> | 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Raccoon Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Raccoon Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7195, Longitude: -82.1960 In this case, the coordinates for Raccoon Island 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 Raccoon Island 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 310.998 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.952 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.99 degrees. |