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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Otterbein, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Otterbein 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 Otterbein:
    • 40.120365, -77.601100
    • 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 Otterbein
  • 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Since Otterbein is near Cumberland County and also Huntingdon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cumberland County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Huntingdon 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 Otterbein

Communities Also Named Otterbein ...

We found six communities that are also named Otterbein.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Otterbein is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Los Angeles County
      • This Otterbein is located in Los Angeles County and lies 2,240 miles [3,604.9 km]<1> to the west of the Otterbein that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Los Angeles County community of Otterbein.
    • Indiana
      • Benton County
      • This Otterbein is located in Benton County and lies 500 miles [804.7 km]<1> to the west of the Otterbein that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Otterbein.
    • Ohio
      • Darke County
      • This Otterbein is located in Darke County and lies 373 miles [600.3 km]<1> to the west of the Otterbein that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Darke County community of Otterbein.
      • Hardin County
      • This Otterbein is located in Hardin County and lies 312 miles [502.1 km] to the west of the Otterbein that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hardin County community of Otterbein.
      • Stark County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Stark County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Otterbein.
      • Warren County
      • This Otterbein is located in Warren County and lies 357 miles [574.5 km] to the west of the Otterbein that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Otterbein.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Otterbein ...

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.

  • Chestnut Crossroads
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chestnut Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Crossroads
  • Dry Run
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Dry Run is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
  • Green Spring
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Green Spring is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Spring
  • Green Village
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Green Village is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
  • Lees Cross Roads
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
  • Mainsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mainsville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainsville
  • Maple Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Maple Grove is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Middle Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Middle Spring is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Spring
  • Mount Hope
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Hope is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
  • Mount Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mount Rock is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Rock
  • Mowersville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Mowersville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowersville
  • Pleasant Hall
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Hall is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hall
  • Spring Run
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Willow Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Chambersburg, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Otterbein to Chambersburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 39 miles [62.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 89 miles [143.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,869 miles [9,445.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,581 miles [10,591.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,456 miles [7,171.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Otterbein) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Otterbein, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Otterbein 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 Otterbein. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1204, Longitude: -77.6011       In this case, the coordinates for Otterbein have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.145 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.918 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.481 degrees.