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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Laurel Mountain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurel Mountain and the surrounding area.
- 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 Laurel Mountain:
- 40.211228, -79.185702
- 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 Laurel Mountain
- 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
- Since Laurel Mountain is near Somerset County and also Fayette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette 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 Laurel Mountain
Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Mountain ...
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.
- Buttermilk Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buttermilk Falls is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttermilk Falls
- California Furnace
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- California Furnace is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Furnace
- Coal Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coal Junction is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Junction
- Forwardstown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Forwardstown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forwardstown
- Gray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gray is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Hillsview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hillsview is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsview
- Idlepark
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Idlepark is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlepark
- Jenners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Jenners Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jennerstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Longbridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Longbridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longbridge
- Mansville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mansville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansville
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Meadowdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowdale is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
- Oak Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Rachelwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rachelwood is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rachelwood
- Roytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
How Far From Laurel Mountain 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 Laurel Mountain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Laurel Mountain and extending to:
- Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Laurel Mountain to Greensburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 121 miles [194.7 km] to the east (E). 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 146 miles [235 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,931 miles [9,545 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,646 miles [10,695.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,521 miles [7,275.8 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel Mountain) 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 Laurel Mountain 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 Laurel Mountain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2112, Longitude: -79.1857 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.102 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.017 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.146 degrees. |
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