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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Nansen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Nansen 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 Nansen:
    • 41.582284, -78.862811
    • 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 Nansen
  • 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 Elk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Elk County
    • Since Nansen is near McKean County and also Forest County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McKean County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Forest 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 Nansen

Communities Also Named Nansen ...

We found two communities that are also named Nansen.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Nansen is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Iowa
      • Chickasaw County
      • This Nansen is located in Chickasaw County and lies 689 miles [1,108.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Nansen that is located in Elk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chickasaw County community of Nansen.
    • Minnesota
      • Goodhue County
      • This Nansen is located in Goodhue County and lies 735 miles [1,182.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Nansen that is located in Elk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Goodhue County community of Nansen.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Nansen ...

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.

  • Cherry Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherry Run is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
  • Corduroy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Corduroy is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corduroy
  • Four Corners
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Four Corners is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • James City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Jo Jo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jo Jo is located in McKean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jo Jo
  • Kane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kane is located in McKean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kane
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,421 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kane <2>
  • Owls Nest
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Owls Nest is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owls Nest
  • Pigs Ear
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pigs Ear is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigs Ear
  • Sergeant
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sergeant is located in McKean County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sergeant
  • Threemile
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Threemile is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Threemile
  • Windy City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Windy City is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City

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

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

  • Ridgway, which is the Seat of Elk County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Nansen to Ridgway, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 136 miles [218.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 208 miles [334.7 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,858 miles [9,427.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,578 miles [10,586.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,453 miles [7,166.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<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- Nansen) 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 Nansen 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 Nansen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5823, Longitude: -78.8628       In this case, the coordinates for Nansen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.816 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.905 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.474 degrees.