Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downey, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downey and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downey
- 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 Downey:
- 39.969371, -78.876676
- 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 Downey
- 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Somerset County
- Since Downey is near Bedford County and also Garrett County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- eBird sighting report for Garrett 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 Downey ...
We found five communities that share the name Downey.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Downey is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Jasper 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 Illinois community of Downey [Jasper County].
- Lake County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Downey [Lake County].
- Iowa
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downey ...
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.
- Berlin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berlin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Berlin is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,931 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berlin <4>
- Glen Savage
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Savage have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Savage
- Glen Savage is located in Somerset County
- Goodtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Grand View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View
- Grand View is located in Bedford County
- Indian Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
- Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Johnsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsburg
- Johnsburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnsburg <4>
- Mineral Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Spring
- Mineral Spring is located in Somerset County
- Reels Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reels Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reels Corners
- Reels Corners is located in Somerset County
- Shaft
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Shanksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shanksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanksville
- Shanksville is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shanksville <4>
How Far From Downey 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 Downey to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Downey and extending to:
- Somerset, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Downey to Somerset, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 107 miles [172.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 122 miles [196.3 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,928 miles [9,540.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,642 miles [10,689.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,518 miles [7,271 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downey. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Somerset County: www.co.somerset.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Downey) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downey. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9694, Longitude: -78.8767 In this case, the coordinates for Downey 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 Downey 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 Downey 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 308.927 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.782 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.099 degrees. |