Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rita, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rita and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rita
- 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 Rita:
- 41.122305, -75.881308
- 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 Rita
- 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 Luzerne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Luzerne County
- Since Rita is near Carbon County and also Monroe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Carbon County
- eBird sighting report for Monroe 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 Rita ...
We found five communities that share the name Rita.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Rita is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Manitoba
- We haven't found the location of this community yet.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rita ...
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.
- Forest Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
- Forest Park is located in Luzerne County
- Gracedale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Hickory Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Hickory Hills is located in Luzerne County
- Honey Hole
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Hole have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hole
- Honey Hole is located in Luzerne County
- Laurel Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Run
- Laurel Run is located in Luzerne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurel Run <4>
- Moosehead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Mountain Top
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Top have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Top
- Mountain Top is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain Top <4>
- Pond Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Creek
- Pond Creek is located in Luzerne County
- Rippletown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rippletown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippletown
- Rippletown is located in Luzerne County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Rule Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rule Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rule Corners
- Rule Corners is located in Luzerne County
- Sand Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Spring
- Sand Spring is located in Luzerne County
- Springtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
- Springtown is located in Luzerne County
- Stairville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stairville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stairville
- Stairville is located in Luzerne County
- Sugar Notch
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Notch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Notch
- Sugar Notch is located in Luzerne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 959 people
- Warrior Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrior Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior Run
- Warrior Run is located in Luzerne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 550 people
- Rule Corners
How Far From Rita 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 Rita to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rita and extending to:
- Wilkes-Barre, which is the Seat of Luzerne County, lies just to the North.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 78 miles [125.5 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Rita to Harrisburg, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 165 miles [265.5 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,755 miles [9,261.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,467 miles [10,407.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,343 miles [6,989.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rita. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Rita) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rita. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1223, Longitude: -75.8813 In this case, the coordinates for Rita 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 Rita 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 Rita 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 307.026 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.808 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.31 degrees. |