RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Berks County >> Mount Aetna >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Mount Aetna, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Aetna 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 Mount Aetna:
    • 40.419116, -76.29585
    • 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 Mount Aetna
  • 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 Berks County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Berks County
    • Since Mount Aetna is near Lebanon County and also Schuylkill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lebanon County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Schuylkill 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 Mount Aetna

Communities Also Named Mount Aetna ...

We found one communities that are also named Mount Aetna.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Mount Aetna is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, there is another community also named Mount Aetna in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Washington County
      • This Mount Aetna is located in Washington County and lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<1> to the southwest of the Mount Aetna that is located in Berks County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Mount Aetna.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Mount Aetna ...

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.

  • Charming Forge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Charming Forge is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charming Forge
  • Fredericksburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Freeport Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Freeport Mills is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport Mills
  • Frystown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Frystown is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frystown
  • Hebron
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hebron is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Host
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Host is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Host
  • Round Head
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Round Head is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Head
  • Shirksville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Shirksville is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirksville
  • Summit View
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Summit View is located in Berks County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit View
  • Sunset
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunset is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
  • Weavertown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Weavertown is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavertown
  • Wintersville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)

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

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

  • Reading, which is the Seat of Berks County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mount Aetna to Reading, 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 most of a day.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 32 miles [51.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 112 miles [180.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,802 miles [9,337.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,512 miles [10,480 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,388 miles [7,061.8 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mount Aetna) 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 Mount Aetna 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 Mount Aetna. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4191, Longitude: -76.2959    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.337 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.049 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.789 degrees.