RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Cameron County >> First Fork >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in First Fork, we use the following websites to find information relevant to First Fork and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 First Fork:
    • 41.453397, -78.049168
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on First Fork
  • 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 Cameron County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
    • Since First Fork is near Potter County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Potter County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clinton 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for First Fork

Curious and Interesting Names Near First Fork ...

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.

  • Castle Garden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Castle Garden is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Garden
  • Cooks Run
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cooks Run is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Run
  • Cross Fork
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Dents Run
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dents Run is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dents Run
  • Driftwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Emporium
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Five Points
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Five Points is located in Potter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Gravel Lick
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Gravel Lick is located in Potter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Lick
  • Hicks Run
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hicks Run is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Run
  • Howard Siding
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Howard Siding is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Siding
  • Lawn View
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lawn View is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn View
  • Mix Run
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mix Run is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mix Run

How Far From First Fork 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 First Fork to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in First Fork and extending to:

  • Emporium, which is the Seat of Cameron County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from First Fork to Emporium, with an average speed<3> 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 101 miles [162.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 184 miles [296.1 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,831 miles [9,384.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,548 miles [10,538 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,424 miles [7,119.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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- First Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 First Fork to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in First Fork. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4534, Longitude: -78.0492       In this case, the coordinates for First Fork have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.322 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.326 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.152 degrees.