Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rand, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rand and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rand
- 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 Rand:
- 40.931469, -77.096361
- 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 Rand
- 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Union County
- Since Rand is near Snyder County and also Centre County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Snyder County
- eBird sighting report for Centre 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
Communities Also Named Rand ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Rand.
There is one other community in Pennsylvania which is also named Rand.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Colorado
- Jackson County
- This Rand is located in Jackson County and lies 1,516 miles [2,439.8 km]<2> to the west of the Rand that is located in Union County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Rand.
- Larimer County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Rand [Larimer County].
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- Ontario
- This Rand lies 562 miles [904.5 km]<2> to the northwest of the Rand that is located in Union County.
- Oregon
- Texas
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rand ...
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.
- Buffalo Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Crossroads
- Buffalo Crossroads is located in Union County
- Dice
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Glen Iron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Johnstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Laurel Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Laurel Park is located in Union County
- Pleasant Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Union County
- Red Bank
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Red Bank is located in Union County
- Shakespeare Club
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shakespeare Club have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakespeare Club
- Shakespeare Club is located in Centre County
- Tannertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tannertown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannertown
- Tannertown is located in Union County
- Wildwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Rand 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 Rand to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rand and extending to:
- Lewisburg, which is the Seat of Union County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Rand to Lewisburg, with an average speed<5> 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 46 miles [74 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 140 miles [225.3 km] to the south (S). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,814 miles [9,356.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,527 miles [10,504.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,403 miles [7,085.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rand. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Union County: www.unionco.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Rand 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rand) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rand. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9315, Longitude: -77.0964 In this case, the coordinates for Rand have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Rand, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Rand to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.779 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.63 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.932 degrees. |