Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in MacDonald, we use the following websites to find information relevant to MacDonald and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for MacDonald
- 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 MacDonald:
- 40.370912, -80.235010
- 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 MacDonald
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since MacDonald is near Allegheny County and also Beaver County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- eBird sighting report for Beaver 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
Communities Also Named MacDonald ...
We found five communities that share the name MacDonald.
Within Pennsylvania, the name MacDonald is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, one is located in the United States and the other three communities are located in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of MacDonald, we know of another community located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This MacDonald lies 1,919 miles [3,088.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the MacDonald that is located in Washington County.
- Manitoba
- This MacDonald lies 1,105 miles [1,778.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the MacDonald that is located in Washington County.
- Ontario
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- West Virginia
- British Columbia
- Communities Beyond North America ...
- Sierra Leone
- Distance: 4,646 miles [7,477 km]<1> to the east
- Sierra Leone
Curious and Interesting Names Near MacDonald ...
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.
- Bishop
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Candor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Cecil
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cecil have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Cecil is located in Washington County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cecil <3>
- Champion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Cokeburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Federal
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Gregg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Imperial
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Imperial have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imperial
- Imperial is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Imperial <3>
- Muse
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Muse Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muse Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muse Junction
- Muse Junction is located in Washington County
- National Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Hill
- National Hill is located in Allegheny County
- Noblestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noblestown
- Noblestown is located in Allegheny County
- Sturgeon
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgeon
- Sturgeon is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sturgeon <3>
How Far From MacDonald 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 MacDonald to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in MacDonald and extending to:
- Washington, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from MacDonald to Washington, 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 176 miles [283.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 198 miles [318.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,966 miles [9,601.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,685 miles [10,758.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,560 miles [7,338.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for MacDonald. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- MacDonald) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in MacDonald. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3709, Longitude: -80.2350 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 MacDonald 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 309.738 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.764 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.557 degrees. |