Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alvira, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alvira and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alvira
- 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 Alvira:
- 41.134022, -76.955287
- 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 Alvira
- 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Union County
- Since Alvira is near Lycoming County and also Northumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lycoming County
- eBird sighting report for Northumberland 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 Alvira ...
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.
- Delaware Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delaware Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware Run
- Delaware Run is located in Northumberland County
- French Settlement
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Settlement have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Settlement
- French Settlement is located in Lycoming County
- Fritz ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Kelly Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kelly Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Crossroads
- Kelly Crossroads is located in Union County
- Loyalsock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Maple Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Maple Hill is located in Lycoming County
- Old Furnace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Furnace
- Old Furnace is located in Union County
- Spring Garden
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Spring Garden is located in Union County
- Springtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
- Springtown is located in Northumberland County
- Warrior Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrior Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior Run
- Warrior Run is located in Northumberland County
How Far From Alvira to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Alvira to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Alvira once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alvira and extending to:
- Lewisburg, which is the Seat of Union County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Alvira to Lewisburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 58 miles [93.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 154 miles [247.8 km] to the south (S). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,799 miles [9,332.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,514 miles [10,483.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,389 miles [7,063.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Union County: www.unionco.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Alvira, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Alvira) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alvira. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1340, Longitude: -76.9553 In this case, the coordinates for Alvira 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 Alvira 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 307.677 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.546 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.786 degrees. |