Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bens Creek, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bens Creek and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bens Creek
- 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 Bens Creek:
- 40.398554, -78.628601
- 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 Bens Creek
- 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 Cambria County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cambria County
- Since Bens Creek is near Blair County and also Bedford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Blair County
- eBird sighting report for Bedford 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 Bens Creek ...
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.
- Fiddlers Green
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fiddlers Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiddlers Green
- Fiddlers Green is located in Cambria County
- Jamestown
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Lower Dutchtown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Dutchtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Dutchtown
- Lower Dutchtown is located in Cambria County
- Miller Shaft
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miller Shaft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller Shaft
- Miller Shaft is located in Cambria County
- Oil City
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Plane Bank
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plane Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plane Bank
- Plane Bank is located in Cambria County
- Portage
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,351 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portage <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Portage
- From Bens Creek to Portage
- Puritan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Puritan is located in Cambria County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Puritan
- From Bens Creek to Puritan
- Redbird
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Shoemaker
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
How Far From Bens Creek 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 Bens Creek to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Bens Creek and extending to:
- Ebensburg, which is the Seat of Cambria County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Bens Creek to Harrisburg, 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 most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 133 miles [214 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,900 miles [9,495.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,615 miles [10,645.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,490 miles [7,226 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bens Creek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cambria County: www.co.cambria.pa.us/
The official website for Commonwealth 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Bens Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bens Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3986, Longitude: -78.6286 In this case, the coordinates for Bens Creek 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 Bens Creek 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 308.75 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.648 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.827 degrees. |