Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Big Mountain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Mountain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Big Mountain
- 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 Big Mountain:
- 40.770641, -76.533569
- 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 Big Mountain
- 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 Northumberland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Northumberland County
- Since Big Mountain is near Schuylkill County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Schuylkill County
- eBird sighting report for Columbia 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 Big Mountain ...
We found four communities that share the name Big Mountain.
There is one other community in Pennsylvania which is also named Big Mountain.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- York County
- This Big Mountain is located in York County and lies 59 miles [95 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Big Mountain that is located in Northumberland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Big Mountain.
- York County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Tennessee
- Morgan County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Big Mountain [Morgan County].
- West Virginia
- Boone County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Big Mountain [Boone County].
- Kanawha County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Big Mountain [Kanawha County].
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Mountain ...
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.
- Alaska
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Atlas
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Bear Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Gap
- Bear Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Bear Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Bear Valley is located in Northumberland County
- Beaverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Beaverdale is located in Northumberland County
- Coal Run
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Ferndale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Greenback
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Line Mountain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Line Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Line Mountain
- Line Mountain is located in Northumberland County
- Locust Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Gap
- Locust Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Natalie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalie
- Natalie is located in Northumberland County
- Overlook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Continue List (4 more) ...
- Point Breeze
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Breeze have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Breeze
- Point Breeze is located in Northumberland County
- Strong
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Sunnyside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Uniontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Point Breeze
How Far From Big Mountain 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 Big Mountain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Big Mountain and extending to:
- Sunbury, which is the Seat of Northumberland County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Big Mountain to Sunbury, with an average speed<4> 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 four to five hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 38 miles [61.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 132 miles [212.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 5,797 miles [9,329.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,509 miles [10,475.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,385 miles [7,057 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Mountain. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Northumberland County: www.northumberlandco.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
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- Big Mountain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Mountain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7706, Longitude: -76.5336 In this case, the coordinates for Big Mountain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Big Mountain 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Big Mountain 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 307.451 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.233 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.748 degrees. |