Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rayland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rayland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rayland
- 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 Rayland:
- 40.184298, -80.690825
- 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 Rayland
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Rayland is near Brooke County and also Ohio County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Brooke County
- eBird sighting report for Ohio 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 Rayland ...
We found one communities that share the name Rayland.
Within Ohio, the name Rayland is unique.
Beyond Ohio, there is another community also named Rayland in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rayland ...
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.
- Beech Bottom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Bottom
- Beech Bottom is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
- Betty Zane
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Betty Zane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Betty Zane
- Betty Zane is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Clearview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Florence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Glen Robbins
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Robbins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Robbins
- Glen Robbins is located in Jefferson County
- Glen Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Glenns Run ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenns Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenns Run
- Glenns Run is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Hopewell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Jug Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Power
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Rush Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Salt Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Continue List (4 more) ...
- Short Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Short Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Short Creek is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Stringer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Warwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Willow Springs ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Short Creek
How Far From Rayland 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 village such as Rayland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rayland and extending to:
- Steubenville, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rayland to Steubenville, with an average speed<3> 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 122 miles [196.3 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 213 miles [342.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,993 miles [9,644.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,712 miles [10,801.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,587 miles [7,382.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rayland. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffersoncountyoh.com/
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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rayland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rayland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1843, Longitude: -80.6908 In this case, the coordinates for Rayland 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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Rayland to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.028 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.065 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.83 degrees. |