Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 California Furnace:
  • 40.191740, -79.208087
  • 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 California Furnace

• 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
  • Since California Furnace is near Somerset County and also Fayette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette 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 California Furnace

Curious and Interesting Names Near California Furnace ...

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.

• Buttermilk Falls
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Buttermilk Falls is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttermilk Falls
• Coal Junction
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Coal Junction is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Junction
• Edie
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Edie is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edie
• Gray
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Gray is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
• Hillsview
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hillsview is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsview
• Idlepark
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Idlepark is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlepark
• Jenners Crossroads
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
• Jennerstown
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Jennerstown is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennerstown
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jennerstown <1>
• Longbridge
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Longbridge is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longbridge
• Mansville
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mansville is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansville
• Meadowdale
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Meadowdale is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
• Oak Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
• Pleasant Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Grove is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
• Roytown
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Roytown is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown

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

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

• Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from California Furnace to Greensburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
• Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 122 miles [196.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 146 miles [235 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 5,932 miles [9,546.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,648 miles [10,698.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,523 miles [7,279.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'