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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Marlin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Marlin 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 Marlin:
    • 40.678423, -76.245225
    • 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 Marlin
  • 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 Schuylkill County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Schuylkill County
    • Since Marlin is near Luzerne County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Luzerne County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Columbia 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 Marlin

Communities Also Named Marlin ...

We found two communities that are also named Marlin.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Marlin is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Texas
      • Falls County
      • This Marlin is located in Falls County and lies 1,317 miles [2,119.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Marlin that is located in Schuylkill County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Falls County community of Marlin.
    • Washington
      • Grant County
      • This Marlin is located in Grant County and lies 2,143 miles [3,448.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Marlin that is located in Schuylkill County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Marlin.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Marlin ...

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.

  • Buck Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Buck Run is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Run
  • Coal Castle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Coal Castle is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Castle
  • Dark Water
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dark Water is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Water
  • Forestville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Forestville is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
  • Glen Carbon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Glen Carbon is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Carbon
  • Jonestown
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jonestown is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
  • Lorraine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lorraine is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
  • Mechanicsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Minersville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mount Pleasant
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Pottsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Seltzer
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Seltzer is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltzer
  • Willow Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Willow Lake is located in Schuylkill County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Lake

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

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

  • Pottsville, which is the Seat of Schuylkill County, lies just to the East.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 43 miles [69.2 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Marlin to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 129 miles [207.6 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,789 miles [9,316.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,500 miles [10,460.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,376 miles [7,042.5 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' (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- Marlin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Marlin 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 Marlin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6784, Longitude: -76.2452       In this case, the coordinates for Marlin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.285 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.031 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.659 degrees.