Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blue Ball, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Ball and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blue Ball
- 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 Blue Ball:
- 40.118335, -76.047923
- 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 Blue Ball
- 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 Lancaster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
- Since Blue Ball is near Bedford County and also Chester County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- eBird sighting report for Chester 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 Blue Ball ...
We found three communities that share the name Blue Ball.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Blue Ball is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Ohio
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blue Ball ...
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.
- Bareville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bareville
- Bareville is located in Lancaster County
- Beartown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Churchtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchtown
- Churchtown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Churchtown <3>
- Fivepointville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fivepointville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivepointville
- Fivepointville is located in Lancaster County
- Frysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Goodville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Green Bank
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bank
- Green Bank is located in Lancaster County
- Meadville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Mountain Top
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Top have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Top
- Mountain Top is located in Lancaster County
- New Holland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- New Holland is located in Lancaster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,547 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Holland <3>
- Red Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Union Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Union Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Weaverland
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weaverland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaverland
- Weaverland is located in Lancaster County
How Far From Blue Ball 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 Blue Ball to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Blue Ball and extending to:
- Lancaster, which is the Seat of Lancaster County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Blue Ball to Lancaster, 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 45 miles [72.4 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 99 miles [159.3 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,804 miles [9,340.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,512 miles [10,480 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,388 miles [7,061.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blue Ball. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lancaster County: www.co.lancaster.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blue Ball) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Ball. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1183, Longitude: -76.0479 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Blue Ball 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 307.214 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.862 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.805 degrees. |