Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Castle Shannon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Castle Shannon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Castle Shannon
- 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 Castle Shannon:
- 40.365780, -80.024710
- 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 Castle Shannon
- 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 Allegheny County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- Since Castle Shannon is near Washington County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Castle Shannon ...
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.
- Curry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Experiment
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Experiment have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Experiment
- Experiment is located in Allegheny County
- Gill Hall
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Glen Hazel
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hazel
- Glen Hazel is located in Allegheny County
- Green Tree
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Tree
- Green Tree is located in Allegheny County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,749 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Tree <2>
- Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Greenfield is located in Allegheny County
- Hays
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Hillcrest
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Jewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Library
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Library have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Library
- Library is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Library <2>
- Library Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Library Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Library Junction
- Library Junction is located in Washington County
- Lincoln Place
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Place
- Lincoln Place is located in Allegheny County
- Continue List (9 more) ...
- Longview
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - New England
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New England have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New England
- New England is located in Allegheny County
- New Homestead
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Homestead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Homestead
- New Homestead is located in Allegheny County
- Option
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Piney Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
- Piney Fork is located in Allegheny County
- Pleasant Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
- Pleasant Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,968 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hills <2>
- Presto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Presto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Presto
- Presto is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Presto <2>
- Rook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Surgeon Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surgeon Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surgeon Hall
- Surgeon Hall is located in Allegheny County
- Longview
How Far From Castle Shannon 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 Castle Shannon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Castle Shannon and extending to:
- Pittsburgh, which is the Seat of Allegheny County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Castle Shannon to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 188 miles [302.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,958 miles [9,588.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,676 miles [10,744 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,551 miles [7,324.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Castle Shannon: borough.castle-shannon.pa.us/
The official website for Allegheny County: www.county.allegheny.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Castle Shannon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Castle Shannon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3658, Longitude: -80.0247 |
| <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 Castle Shannon 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 309.608 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.616 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.465 degrees. |