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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ridgway, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridgway 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 Ridgway:
    • 41.424228, -78.732806
    • 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 Ridgway
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Elk County
    • Since Ridgway is near Jefferson County and also Forest County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Forest 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 Ridgway

Communities Also Named Ridgway ...

We found three communities that are also named Ridgway.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Ridgway is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Ouray County
      • This Ridgway is located in Ouray County and lies 1,548 miles [2,491.3 km]<1> to the west of the Ridgway that is located in Elk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ouray County community of Ridgway.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Ridgway is located in Hillsborough County and lies 950 miles [1,528.9 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Ridgway that is located in Elk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Ridgway.
    • Illinois
      • Gallatin County
      • This Ridgway is located in Gallatin County and lies 564 miles [907.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Ridgway that is located in Elk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallatin County community of Ridgway.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgway ...

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.

  • Boot Jack
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boot Jack is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boot Jack
  • Brandy Camp
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Brandy Camp is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Camp
  • Challenge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Challenge is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
  • Coal Hollow
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Coal Hollow is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hollow
  • Earlyville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Earlyville is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earlyville
  • Grandview
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Grandview is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Lake City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Lynchville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Lynchville is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchville
  • Owls Nest
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Owls Nest is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owls Nest
  • Squab Hollow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Squab Hollow is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squab Hollow
  • Whistletown
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Whistletown is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown

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

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

  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 124 miles [199.6 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Ridgway to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 196 miles [315.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,859 miles [9,429.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,579 miles [10,587.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,454 miles [7,168 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Ridgway) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Ridgway 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 Ridgway. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4242, Longitude: -78.7328       In this case, the coordinates for Ridgway have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.747 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.802 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.477 degrees.