RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Berks County >> Gibraltar >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gibraltar, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar:
    • 40.283771, -75.869966
    • 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 Gibraltar
  • 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 Berks County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Berks County
    • Since Gibraltar is near Chester County and also Lancaster County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chester County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster 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 Gibraltar

Communities Also Named Gibraltar ...

We found seven communities that are also named Gibraltar.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Gibraltar is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these seven communities, three are located in the United States and five are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Gibraltar lies 2,323 miles [3,738.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Gibraltar that is located in Berks County.
    • Michigan
      • Wayne County
      • This Gibraltar is located in Wayne County and lies 400 miles [643.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Gibraltar that is located in Berks County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Gibraltar.
    • North Carolina
      • Union County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Union County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Gibraltar.
    • Nova Scotia
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Ontario
      • This Gibraltar lies 366 miles [589 km]<1> to the northwest of the Gibraltar that is located in Berks County.
    • Quebec
      • This Gibraltar lies 504 miles [811.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Gibraltar that is located in Berks County.
    • Washington
      • Skagit County
      • This Gibraltar is located in Skagit County and lies 2,335 miles [3,757.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Gibraltar that is located in Berks County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Skagit County community of Gibraltar.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gibraltar ...

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.

  • Fairway
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Fairway is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway
  • Flying Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Flying Hills is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flying Hills
  • Greenview
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Greenview is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenview
  • Heisters Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Heisters Creek is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heisters Creek
  • Hunters Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Hunters Run is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
  • Lincolnwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Lincolnwood is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnwood
  • Long Pond
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Long Pond is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Pond
  • Neversink
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Neversink is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neversink
  • Pathfinder Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pathfinder Valley is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pathfinder Valley
  • Pheasant Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Pheasant Run is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run
  • Stonetown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Stonetown is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonetown
  • Sunrise
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Sunrise is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise
  • Sunshine
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Sunshine is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
  • Wingspread
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Wingspread is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingspread

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Gibraltar and extending to:

  • Reading, which is the Seat of Berks County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<1> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from Gibraltar to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 114 miles [183.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,790 miles [9,318.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,498 miles [10,457.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,374 miles [7,039.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Gibraltar) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Gibraltar, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2838, Longitude: -75.8700       In this case, the coordinates for Gibraltar have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.094 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.752 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.659 degrees.