Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Nilan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Nilan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Nilan
- 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 Nilan:
- 39.732856, -79.883946
- 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 Nilan
- 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 Fayette County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Nilan is near Greene County and also Monongalia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Greene County
- eBird sighting report for Monongalia 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Nilan ...
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.
- Canyon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Cheat Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheat Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Cheat Neck
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheat Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Neck
- Cheat Neck is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Cornish
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Crystal
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Friendship Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship Heights
- Friendship Heights is located in Fayette County
- Greystone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Hoard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Ices Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ices Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ices Ferry
- Ices Ferry is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Locust Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Locust Hill is located in Fayette County
- Outcrop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Sprucetown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sprucetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprucetown
- Sprucetown is located in Fayette County
- Stewartstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewartstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartstown
- Stewartstown is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Sunset Beach
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Beach
- Sunset Beach is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Walnut Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Walnut Hill is located in Greene County
- Locust Hill
How Far From Nilan 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 Nilan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Nilan and extending to:
- Uniontown, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Nilan to Uniontown, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 163 miles [262.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 162 miles [260.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,980 miles [9,623.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,695 miles [10,774.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,571 miles [7,356.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Nilan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Fayette County: www.fayettepa.org
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Nilan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Nilan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7329, Longitude: -79.8839 In this case, the coordinates for Nilan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Nilan to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.552 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.456 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.63 degrees. |