Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shady Plain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shady Plain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shady Plain
- 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 Shady Plain:
- 40.612010, -79.438097
- 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 Shady Plain
- 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 Armstrong County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Armstrong County
- Since Shady Plain is near Indiana County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Indiana County
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shady Plain ...
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.
- Apollo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apollo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
- Apollo is located in Armstrong County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <2>
- Brick Church
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brick Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Church
- Brick Church is located in Armstrong County
- Dime
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Elders Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elders Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elders Ridge
- Elders Ridge is located in Indiana County
- Hicksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hicksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Hicksville is located in Armstrong County
- Idaho
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Maysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Old Gum Tree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Gum Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Gum Tree
- Old Gum Tree is located in Armstrong County
- Orchard Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Spring Church
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Church
- Spring Church is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Church <2>
- Top
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
How Far From Shady Plain to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Shady Plain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Shady Plain and extending to:
- Kittanning, which is the Seat of Armstrong County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shady Plain to Kittanning, with an average speed<4> 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 136 miles [218.9 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 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 173 miles [278.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,923 miles [9,532.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,641 miles [10,687.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,516 miles [7,267.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shady Plain. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shady Plain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shady Plain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6120, Longitude: -79.4381 In this case, the coordinates for Shady Plain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Shady Plain to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.234 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.229 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.109 degrees. |