Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Donegal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Donegal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Donegal
- 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 Donegal:
- 40.114240, -79.377813
- 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 Donegal
- 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 Donegal is near Fayette County and also Somerset County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette 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 Donegal ...
We found five communities that share the name Donegal.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Donegal is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, three are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Donegal ...
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.
- Acme
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Acme is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acme <4>
- Bear Rocks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Champion
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
- Champion is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Champion <4>
- Hopewell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Indian Head
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jones Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Mills
- Jones Mills is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jones Mills <4>
- Kecksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Mammoth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Mansville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Maple Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Maple Grove is located in Fayette County
- Mount Joy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Pleasant Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Seven Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
- Seven Springs is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seven Springs <4>
How Far From Donegal to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Donegal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Donegal and extending to:
- Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Donegal to Greensburg, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 132 miles [212.4 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 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 150 miles [241.4 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 5,943 miles [9,564.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,658 miles [10,715 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,533 miles [7,295.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Donegal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Donegal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Donegal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1142, Longitude: -79.3778 In this case, the coordinates for Donegal 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 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 Donegal 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Donegal 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 309.224 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.142 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.267 degrees. |