Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Donaldson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Donaldson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Donaldson
- 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 Donaldson:
- 40.636525, -76.411979
- 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 Donaldson
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Schuylkill County
- Since Donaldson is near Luzerne County and also Northumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Luzerne County
- eBird sighting report for Northumberland 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 Donaldson ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Donaldson.
There is one other community in Pennsylvania which is also named Donaldson.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- This Donaldson lies 300 miles [482.8 km]<1> to the north of the Donaldson that is located in Schuylkill County.
- West Virginia
- Hampshire County
- This Donaldson is located in Hampshire County and lies 142 miles [228.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Donaldson that is located in Schuylkill County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampshire County community of Donaldson.
- Webster County
- This Donaldson is located in Webster County and lies 267 miles [429.7 km] to the southwest of the Donaldson that is located in Schuylkill County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Webster County community of Donaldson.
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Donaldson ...
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
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - De Turksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Turksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Turksville
- De Turksville is located in Schuylkill County
- Echo Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Forestville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Forestville is located in Schuylkill County
- Fountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
- Fountain is located in Schuylkill County
- Good Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Spring
- Good Spring is located in Schuylkill County
- Mabel
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Marstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Middle Creek ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Middle Creek is located in Schuylkill County
- Mount Pleasant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Schuylkill County
- Paradise
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Ravine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
How Far From Donaldson 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 Donaldson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Donaldson and extending to:
- Pottsville, which is the Seat of Schuylkill County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Donaldson to Pottsville, with an average speed<4> 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 34 miles [54.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 124 miles [199.6 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving 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 5,798 miles [9,331 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,509 miles [10,475.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,384 miles [7,055.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Donaldson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Schuylkill County: www.co.schuylkill.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Donaldson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Donaldson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6365, Longitude: -76.4120 |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Donaldson 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> | 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. |
| <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 Donaldson 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 307.389 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.142 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.75 degrees. |