Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Benson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Benson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Benson
- 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 Benson:
- 40.207576, -78.925303
- 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 Benson
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Somerset County
- Since Benson is near Cambria County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cambria County
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland 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 Benson ...
We found 28 communities that share the name Benson.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Benson is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another 28 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 28 communities, 27 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Chilton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Benson [Chilton County].
- Etowah County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Benson [Etowah County].
- Tallapoosa County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Benson [Tallapoosa County].
- Arizona
- Florida
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Harford County
- This Benson is located in Harford County and lies 143 miles [230.1 km]<3> to the east southeast of the Benson that is located in Somerset County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Benson.
- Howard County
- This Benson is located in Howard County and lies 123 miles [197.9 km] to the east southeast of the Benson that is located in Somerset County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Howard County community of Benson.
- Michigan
- Oakland County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Benson [Oakland County].
- Wexford County
- This Benson is located in Wexford County and lies 434 miles [698.5 km]<3> to the northwest of the Benson that is located in Somerset County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wexford County community of Benson.
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Saskatchewan
- This Benson lies 1,333 miles [2,145.3 km]<3> to the northwest of the Benson that is located in Somerset County.
- South Carolina
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Benson ...
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.
- Davidsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsville
- Davidsville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davidsville <5>
- Ferndale
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferndale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Ferndale is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,474 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferndale <5>
- Forward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Forwardstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forwardstown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forwardstown
- Forwardstown is located in Somerset County
- Jerome
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Jerome Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerome Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome Junction
- Jerome Junction is located in Somerset County
- Maple Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Ridge
- Maple Ridge is located in Somerset County
- Paint
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Pilltown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Randolph
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Scalp Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scalp Level have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
- Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
- Stonycreek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonycreek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonycreek
- Stonycreek is located in Cambria County
How Far From Benson to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Benson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Benson and extending to:
- Somerset, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Benson to Somerset, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 107 miles [172.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 135 miles [217.3 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,920 miles [9,527.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,635 miles [10,678 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,510 miles [7,258.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Benson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Somerset County: www.co.somerset.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Benson could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 Benson, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Benson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Benson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2076, Longitude: -78.9253 In this case, the coordinates for Benson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Benson to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.943 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.837 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.032 degrees. |