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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shire Oaks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shire Oaks 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 Shire Oaks:
- 40.243681, -79.946439
- 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 Shire Oaks
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Shire Oaks is near Allegheny County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Shire Oaks
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shire Oaks ...
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.
- Black Diamond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Coal Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Cracker Jack
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cracker Jack is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cracker Jack
- Elizabeth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elkhorn
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Elkhorn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Experiment
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Experiment is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Experiment
- Fisher
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fisher is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Gill Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gill Hall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill Hall
- Ginger Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ginger Hill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginger Hill
- Library
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lovedale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lovedale is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovedale
- New Eagle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Pierce
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Pierce is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
- Piney Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Piney Fork is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
- River View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- River View is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- Riverview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Sunny Side
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Turkeyfoot
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Turkeyfoot is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeyfoot
- Victory Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Victory Hills is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Hills
How Far From Shire Oaks 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 Shire Oaks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Shire Oaks and extending to:
- Washington, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shire Oaks to Washington, with an average speed<3> 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 five to six hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 161 miles [259.1 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 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 180 miles [289.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,960 miles [9,591.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,677 miles [10,745.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,553 miles [7,327.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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- Shire Oaks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Shire Oaks 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 Shire Oaks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2437, Longitude: -79.9464 In this case, the coordinates for Shire Oaks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.566 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.55 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.474 degrees. |
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