RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ontario, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ontario 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 Ontario:
    • 40.103405, -80.074499
    • 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 Ontario
  • 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
    • Since Ontario is near Greene County and also Fayette County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Greene County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette 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 Ontario

Communities Also Named Ontario ...

We found thirteen communities that are also named Ontario.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Ontario is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • San Bernardino County
      • This Ontario is located in San Bernardino County and lies 2,095 miles [3,371.6 km]<1> to the west of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of Ontario.
    • Illinois
      • Knox County
      • This Ontario is located in Knox County and lies 540 miles [869 km]<1> to the west of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knox County community of Ontario.
    • Indiana
      • LaGrange County
      • This Ontario is located in LaGrange County and lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaGrange County community of Ontario.
    • Iowa
      • Story County
      • This Ontario is located in Story County and lies 719 miles [1,157.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Story County community of Ontario.
    • Kansas
      • Jackson County
      • This Ontario is located in Jackson County and lies 837 miles [1,347 km]<1> to the west of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Ontario.
    • Michigan
      • Lenawee County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Ontario [Lenawee County].
    • New York
      • Wayne County
      • This Ontario is located in Wayne County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Ontario.
    • Ohio
      • Richland County
      • This Ontario is located in Richland County and lies 141 miles [226.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Ontario.
    • Oklahoma
      • Ottawa County
      • This Ontario is located in Ottawa County and lies 820 miles [1,319.7 km]<1> to the west of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ottawa County community of Ontario.
    • Oregon
      • Malheur County
      • This Ontario is located in Malheur County and lies 1,894 miles [3,048.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Malheur County community of Ontario.
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Ontario is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,664 miles [2,677.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Ontario.
    • Virginia
      • Charlotte County
      • This Ontario is located in Charlotte County and lies 231 miles [371.8 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charlotte County community of Ontario.
    • Wisconsin
      • Vernon County
      • This Ontario is located in Vernon County and lies 594 miles [956 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ontario that is located in Washington County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vernon County community of Ontario.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ontario ...

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.

  • Centerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Centerville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
  • Clover Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Clover Hill is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Hill
  • Eighty Four
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Farquhar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Farquhar is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farquhar
  • Jonestown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jonestown is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
  • Little Summit
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Summit is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Summit
  • Lone Pine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lone Pine is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
  • Long Pine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Long Pine is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Pine
  • Lover
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lover is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover
  • Mount Pleasant
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Pleasant View Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Pleasant View Heights is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View Heights
  • Scenery Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)

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

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

  • Washington, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ontario to Washington, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 168 miles [270.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 182 miles [292.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 5,971 miles [9,609.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,689 miles [10,764.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,564 miles [7,345 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ontario) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Ontario could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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 Ontario 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 Ontario. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1034, Longitude: -80.0745       In this case, the coordinates for Ontario have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.652 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.626 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.582 degrees.