Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gastown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gastown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gastown
- 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 Gastown:
- 40.709232, -79.315595
- 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 Gastown
- 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 Armstrong County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Armstrong County
- Since Gastown is near Indiana County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Indiana County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gastown ...
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.
- Advance
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Blanket Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanket Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanket Hill
- Blanket Hill is located in Armstrong County
- Brick Church
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brick Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Church
- Brick Church is located in Armstrong County
- Creekside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Five Points
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Indiana County
- Hoosicks Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoosicks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoosicks Mill
- Hoosicks Mill is located in Armstrong County
- Idaho
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Margaret
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Rockville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Rural Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Valley
- Rural Valley is located in Armstrong County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rural Valley <2>
- Top
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Gastown 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 Gastown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Gastown and extending to:
- Kittanning, which is the Seat of Armstrong County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Gastown to Kittanning, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 131 miles [210.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 173 miles [278.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,914 miles [9,517.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,632 miles [10,673.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,507 miles [7,253.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gastown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gastown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gastown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7092, Longitude: -79.3156 In this case, the coordinates for Gastown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Gastown 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 309.153 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.152 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.017 degrees. |