Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Branchdale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Branchdale and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Branchdale

• 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 Branchdale:
  • 40.669256, -76.322729
  • 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 Branchdale

• 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 Schuylkill County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Schuylkill County
  • Since Branchdale is near Luzerne County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Luzerne County
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Branchdale

Curious and Interesting Names Near Branchdale ...

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.

• Buck Run
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Buck Run is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Run
• Coal Castle
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Coal Castle is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Castle
• Forestville
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Forestville is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
• Glen Carbon
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Glen Carbon is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Carbon
• Gordon
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Gordon is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordon <1>
• Jonestown
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jonestown is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
• Marlin
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Marlin is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlin
• Middle Creek ‑ Historic
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Middle Creek is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
• Minersville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Minersville is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minersville
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,133 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minersville <1>
• Mount Pleasant
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mount Pleasant is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
• Seltzer
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Seltzer is located in Schuylkill County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltzer

How Far From Branchdale 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 Branchdale to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Branchdale and extending to:

• Pottsville, which is the Seat of Schuylkill County, lies just to the East.
• Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 39 miles [62.8 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Branchdale to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 128 miles [206 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,793 miles [9,322.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,504 miles [10,467.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,379 miles [7,047.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'