RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Somerset County >> Acosta >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Acosta, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Acosta and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Acosta:
    • 40.110354, -79.068917
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Acosta
  • 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
    • Since Acosta is near Westmoreland County and also Fayette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Acosta

Communities Also Named Acosta ...

We found one communities that are also named Acosta.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Acosta is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, there is another community also named Acosta in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Texas
      • Hidalgo County
      • This Acosta is located in Hidalgo County and lies 1,456 miles [2,343.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Acosta that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hidalgo County community of Acosta.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Acosta ...

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.

  • Coal Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Coal Junction is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Junction
  • Edie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Edie is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edie
  • Gray
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gray is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
  • Husband
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Husband is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
  • Jenners
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jenners is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
  • Jenners Crossroads
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
  • Jennerstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Meadowdale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Meadowdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
  • Randolph
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Randolph is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
  • Roytown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Roytown is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown

How Far From Acosta 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 Acosta to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Acosta and extending to:

  • Somerset, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies just to the South.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 116 miles [186.7 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Acosta to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 136 miles [218.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,930 miles [9,543.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,645 miles [10,694.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,520 miles [7,274.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Acosta) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Acosta to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Acosta. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1104, Longitude: -79.0689       In this case, the coordinates for Acosta have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.036 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.927 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.132 degrees.