RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Cumberland County >> Lower Allen >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Lower Allen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lower Allen 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 Lower Allen:
    • 40.226479, -76.900529
    • 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 Lower Allen
  • 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 Lower Allen ...

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.

  • Bunches
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bunches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunches
    • Bunches is located in York County
  • Cedar Cliff
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Cliff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cliff
    • Cedar Cliff is located in Cumberland County
  • Cedar Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
    • Cedar Point is located in York County
  • Cherry Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
    • Cherry Hill is located in York County
  • Coventry Close
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry Close have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Close
    • Coventry Close is located in Cumberland County
  • Enola
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Fort Couch
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Couch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Couch
    • Fort Couch is located in Cumberland County
  • Frogtown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frogtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
    • Frogtown is located in York County
  • Good Hope Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Hope Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope Mill
    • Good Hope Mill is located in Cumberland County
  • Harrisburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hillside Village
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Village
    • Hillside Village is located in Dauphin County
  • Holliday
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holliday have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliday
    • Holliday is located in Cumberland County
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Jackson Lick
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson Lick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Lick
      • Jackson Lick is located in Dauphin County
    • Kingwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingwood
      • Kingwood is located in Cumberland County
    • Knob Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knob Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Point
      • Knob Point is located in Cumberland County
    • Marsh Run
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marsh Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
      • Marsh Run is located in York County
    • Peace Church
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peace Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Church
      • Peace Church is located in Cumberland County
    • Raven Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raven Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Hill
      • Raven Hill is located in Cumberland County
    • Reservoir Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reservoir Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reservoir Hill
      • Reservoir Hill is located in Cumberland County
    • Sporting Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sporting Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
      • Sporting Hill is located in Cumberland County
    • Timber Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
      • Timber Ridge is located in York County
    • Winding Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winding Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winding Heights
      • Winding Heights is located in Cumberland County

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Lower Allen and extending to:

  • Carlisle, which is the Seat of Cumberland County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Lower Allen to Carlisle, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 just to the north northeast (NNE).
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 92 miles [148.1 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,835 miles [9,390.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,546 miles [10,534.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,422 miles [7,116.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lower Allen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lower Allen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2265, Longitude: -76.9005       In this case, the coordinates for Lower Allen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Lower Allen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.716 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.448 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.132 degrees.