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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bala, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bala 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 Bala:
    • 39.999279, -75.232959
    • 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 Bala
  • 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Since Bala is near Philadelphia County and also Allegheny County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Philadelphia County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Allegheny 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 Bala

Communities Also Named Bala ...

We found two communities that are also named Bala.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Bala is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kansas
      • Riley County
      • This Bala is located in Riley County and lies 1,152 miles [1,854 km]<1> to the west of the Bala that is located in Montgomery County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Riley County community of Bala.
    • Ontario
      • This Bala lies 411 miles [661.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bala that is located in Montgomery County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bala ...

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.

  • Allgates
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Allgates is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgates
  • Bywood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bywood is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bywood
  • Carpenter
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Carpenter is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
  • Cedar Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Park is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Park
  • Fishers
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fishers is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishers
  • Francisville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Francisville is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisville
  • Garden Court
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Garden Court is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Court
  • Grassland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Grassland is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassland
  • Grays Ferry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Grays Ferry is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Ferry
  • Hollow Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollow Woods is located in Montgomery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Woods
  • Hunting Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Hunting Park is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Park
  • Mount Pleasant
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Philadelphia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Nicetown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Nicetown is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicetown
    • Poplar
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Poplar is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
    • Roseglen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Roseglen is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseglen
    • Spring Garden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Garden is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
    • Spruce Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Spruce Hill is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Hill
    • Strawberry Mansion
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Strawberry Mansion is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Mansion
    • University City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • University City is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
    • Wyoming
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Wyoming is located in Philadelphia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming

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

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

  • Norristown, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bala to Norristown, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the west northwest (WNW). 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 122 miles [196.3 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,775 miles [9,294 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,480 miles [10,428.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,357 miles [7,011.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>'

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- Bala) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Bala 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 Bala. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9993, Longitude: -75.2330       In this case, the coordinates for Bala have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.74 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.306 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.504 degrees.