Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Essen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Essen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Essen
- 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 Essen:
- 40.362095, -80.082459
- 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 Essen
- 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 Allegheny County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- Since Essen is near Washington County and also Beaver County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- eBird sighting report for Beaver 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 Essen ...
We found two communities that share the name Essen.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Essen is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Nebraska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Essen ...
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.
- Cecil
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cecil have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Cecil is located in Washington County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cecil <3>
- Curry
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Fairywood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairywood
- Fairywood is located in Allegheny County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fairywood
- From Essen to Fairywood
- Federal
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Green Tree
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Tree
- Green Tree is located in Allegheny County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,749 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Tree <3>
- Gregg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Hillcrest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Jewell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Library Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Library Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Library Junction
- Library Junction is located in Washington County
- Longview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - National Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Hill
- National Hill is located in Allegheny County
- Option
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Presto
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Presto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Presto
- Presto is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Presto <3>
- Rook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
How Far From Essen 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 Essen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Essen and extending to:
- Pittsburgh, which is the Seat of Allegheny County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Essen to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 190 miles [305.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,960 miles [9,591.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,679 miles [10,748.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,554 miles [7,329 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Essen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Allegheny County: www.county.allegheny.pa.us/
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Essen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Essen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3621, Longitude: -80.0825 In this case, the coordinates for Essen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Essen 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 309.644 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.656 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.492 degrees. |