Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Derry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Derry and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Derry
- 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 Derry:
- 40.334237, -79.305591
- 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 Derry
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
- Since Derry is near Indiana County and also Somerset County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Indiana County
- eBird sighting report for Somerset 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 Derry ...
We found ten communities that share the name Derry.
There are three communities within Pennsylvania that are also named Derry.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- Columbia County
- Dauphin County
- Montour County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- Oregon
Curious and Interesting Names Near Derry ...
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
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buttermilk Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttermilk Falls
- Buttermilk Falls is located in Westmoreland County
- Cokeville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Dorothy
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Grays
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Hillside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Idlepark
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Lloydsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lloydsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Lloydsville is located in Westmoreland County
- Longbridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longbridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longbridge
- Longbridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Peanut
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Superior
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Derry 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 Derry to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Derry and extending to:
- Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Derry to Greensburg, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 127 miles [204.4 km] to the east (E). 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 156 miles [251.1 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,930 miles [9,543.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,646 miles [10,695.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,522 miles [7,277.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Derry: www.derrypa.com/
The official website for Westmoreland County: www.co.westmoreland.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Derry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Derry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3342, Longitude: -79.3056 In this case, the coordinates for Derry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Derry 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Derry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Derry to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.168 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.112 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.154 degrees. |