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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Betz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Betz 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 Betz:
- 40.845337, -78.435854
- 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 Betz
- 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 Clearfield County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Clearfield County
- Since Betz is near Centre County and also Cambria County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Centre County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Cambria 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 Betz
Communities Also Named Betz ...
We found one communities that are also named Betz.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Betz is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, there is another community also named Betz in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Massac 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 Illinois community of Betz [Massac County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Betz ...
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.
- Boardman
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Boardman is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardman
- Booker
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Booker is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker
- Glen Hope
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Hope is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Janesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Janesville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Kellytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kellytown is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellytown
- Mascot ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mascot is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot
- Parsonsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Parsonsville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsville
- Smoke Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Smoke Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Run
How Far From Betz 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 Betz to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Betz and extending to:
- Clearfield, which is the Seat of Clearfield County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Betz to Clearfield, with an average speed<3> 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 90 miles [144.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 153 miles [246.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,872 miles [9,450.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,589 miles [10,604 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,464 miles [7,184.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Betz 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Betz) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Betz 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 Betz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8453, Longitude: -78.4359 In this case, the coordinates for Betz have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.603 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.55 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.568 degrees. |
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