RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Westmoreland County >> Port Royal >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Port Royal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Port Royal 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 Port Royal:
    • 40.168683, -79.767544
    • 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 Port Royal
  • 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
    • Since Port Royal is near Fayette County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Port Royal

Communities Also Named Port Royal ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Port Royal.

There is one other community in Pennsylvania that is also named Port Royal.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of eleven communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, nine are located in the United States and four are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
    • Juniata County
      • This Port Royal is located in Juniata County and lies 127 miles [204.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Juniata County community of Port Royal.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Hale County
      • This Port Royal is located in Hale County and lies 682 miles [1,097.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hale County community of Port Royal.
    • Florida
      • Collier County
      • This Port Royal is located in Collier County and lies 977 miles [1,572.3 km]<1> to the south of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Collier County community of Port Royal.
    • Georgia
      • Bryan County
      • This Port Royal is located in Bryan County and lies 577 miles [928.6 km]<1> to the south of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bryan County community of Port Royal.
    • Kentucky
      • Henry County
      • This Port Royal is located in Henry County and lies 304 miles [489.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Port Royal.
    • Missouri
      • Franklin County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Port Royal [Franklin County].
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Port Royal lies 1,366 miles [2,198.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Port Royal lies 785 miles [1,263.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
    • Ontario
      • This Port Royal lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
    • South Carolina
      • Beaufort County
      • This Port Royal is located in Beaufort County and lies 539 miles [867.4 km]<1> to the south of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaufort County community of Port Royal.
    • Tennessee
      • Montgomery County
      • This Port Royal is located in Montgomery County and lies 470 miles [756.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Port Royal.
    • Virginia
      • Caroline County
      • This Port Royal is located in Caroline County and lies 195 miles [313.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Port Royal that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caroline County community of Port Royal.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Port Royal ...

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.

  • Dick
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Dick is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dick
  • Eureka
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
  • Fuller
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Fuller is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
  • Grandview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Grandview is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Industry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Industry is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
  • Jacobs Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacobs Creek is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs Creek
  • Lake Denise
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Denise is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Denise
  • Lynn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lynn is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
  • Mustard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mustard is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustard
  • Naomi
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Naomi is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naomi
  • Pricedale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pricedale is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pricedale
  • Redstone
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Redstone is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Reduction
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Reduction is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reduction
    • Sunny Side
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
    • Turkeytown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Turkeytown is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
    • Victory Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Victory Hills is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Hills

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

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

  • Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Port Royal to Greensburg, 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 152 miles [244.6 km] to the east (E). 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 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 169 miles [272 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about 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 5,956 miles [9,585.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,673 miles [10,739.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,548 miles [7,319.3 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Port Royal) 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 Port Royal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Port Royal 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 Port Royal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1687, Longitude: -79.7675       In this case, the coordinates for Port Royal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.46 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.418 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.421 degrees.