Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rathbun, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rathbun and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rathbun
- 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 Rathbun:
- 41.485062, -78.438351
- 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 Rathbun
- 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 Elk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Elk County
- Since Rathbun is near Cameron County and also McKean County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cameron County
- eBird sighting report for McKean 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 Rathbun ...
We found two communities that share the name Rathbun.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Rathbun is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Iowa
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rathbun ...
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.
- Emporium
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporium have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporium
- Emporium is located in Cameron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,770 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emporium <4>
- Glen Hazel
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hazel
- Glen Hazel is located in Elk County
- Grandview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Howard Siding
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howard Siding have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Siding
- Howard Siding is located in Cameron County
- Lawn View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Lynchville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynchville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchville
- Lynchville is located in Elk County
- Rich Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rich Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Valley
- Rich Valley is located in Cameron County
- Straight Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Straight Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Creek
- Straight Creek is located in Elk County
How Far From Rathbun 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 Rathbun to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rathbun and extending to:
- Ridgway, which is the Seat of Elk County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rathbun to Ridgway, with an average speed<5> 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 116 miles [186.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 193 miles [310.6 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,845 miles [9,406.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,439 miles [7,143.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rathbun. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Elk County: www.co.elk.pa.us/
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rathbun) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rathbun. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4851, Longitude: -78.4384 In this case, the coordinates for Rathbun have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Rathbun 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Rathbun 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 308.56 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.60 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.317 degrees. |