Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Minooka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Minooka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Minooka
- 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 Minooka:
- 41.379247, -75.692413
- 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 Minooka
- 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 Lackawanna County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lackawanna County
- Since Minooka is near Luzerne County and also Wyoming County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Luzerne County
- eBird sighting report for Wyoming 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 Minooka ...
We found two communities that share the name Minooka.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Minooka is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Illinois
Curious and Interesting Names Near Minooka ...
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.
- Barbertown ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barbertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbertown
- Barbertown is located in Lackawanna County
- Bush Patch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bush Patch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush Patch
- Bush Patch is located in Lackawanna County
- Dunmore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunmore
- Dunmore is located in Lackawanna County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,836 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunmore <3>
- Green Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
- Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
- Greenwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Hillside Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillside Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Junction
- Hillside Junction is located in Lackawanna County
- Hughestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughestown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughestown
- Hughestown is located in Luzerne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
- Milwaukee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Providence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in Lackawanna County
- Spike Island
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spike Island have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spike Island
- Spike Island is located in Lackawanna County
- Starks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Minooka to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Minooka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Minooka and extending to:
- Scranton, which is the Seat of Lackawanna County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 97 miles [156.1 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Minooka to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 185 miles [297.7 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,737 miles [9,232.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,449 miles [10,378.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,325 miles [6,960.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Minooka. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lackawanna County: www.lackawannacounty.org/
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 from Point A (ie- Minooka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Minooka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3792, Longitude: -75.6924 In this case, the coordinates for Minooka have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Minooka 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 306.887 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.692 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.115 degrees. |