RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Mifflin County >> Colonial Hills >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Colonial Hills:
    • 40.565629, -77.611937
    • 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 Colonial Hills
  • 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 Mifflin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mifflin County
    • Since Colonial Hills is near Juniata County and also Huntingdon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Juniata County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Huntingdon 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 Colonial Hills

Communities Also Named Colonial Hills ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Colonial Hills.

There are two communities within Pennsylvania that are also named Colonial Hills.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
    • Berks County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Berks County and lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berks County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Dauphin County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Dauphin County and lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dauphin County community of Colonial Hills.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Madison County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Madison County and lies 632 miles [1,017.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 744 miles [1,197.4 km] to the southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Hillsborough County and lies 919 miles [1,479 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Georgia
      • Paulding County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Paulding County and lies 607 miles [976.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Paulding County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Indiana
      • Warrick 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 Indiana community of Colonial Hills [Warrick County].
    • Maryland
      • Carroll County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Carroll County and lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Mississippi
      • Oktibbeha County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Oktibbeha County and lies 789 miles [1,269.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oktibbeha County community of Colonial Hills.
    • North Carolina
      • Onslow County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Onslow County and lies 401 miles [645.3 km]<1> to the south of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onslow County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Orange County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Orange County and lies 321 miles [516.6 km] to the south southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Ohio
      • Franklin 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 Ohio community of Colonial Hills [Franklin County].
      • Richland County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Richland County and lies 255 miles [410.4 km]<1> to the west of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Colonial Hills.
    • South Carolina
      • Anderson County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Anderson County and lies 502 miles [807.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Greenville County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Greenville County and lies 466 miles [750 km] to the southwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Utah
      • Weber County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Weber County and lies 1,780 miles [2,864.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Mifflin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Colonial Hills.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Colonial Hills ...

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.

  • Cedar Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Hill is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
  • Hawstone
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hawstone is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawstone
  • Lewistown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lockport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lockport is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport
  • Longfellow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Longfellow is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longfellow
  • Lumber City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
  • Martins Crossroads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Martins Crossroads is located in Juniata County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Crossroads
  • Mechanicsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Mechanicsville is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
  • Mount Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Rock is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Rock
  • Reedsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Union Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Mills is located in Mifflin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
  • Walnut
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Walnut is located in Juniata County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Colonial Hills and extending to:

  • Lewistown, which is the Seat of Mifflin County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 43 miles [69.2 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could walk a straight line from Colonial Hills to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full 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 119 miles [191.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,851 miles [9,416.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,439 miles [7,143.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Colonial Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Colonial Hills 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>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 Colonial Hills to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colonial Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5656, Longitude: -77.6119       In this case, the coordinates for Colonial Hills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.12 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.959 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.31 degrees.