Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shirksville, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shirksville and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shirksville
- 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 Shirksville:
- 40.428702, -76.422182
- 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 Shirksville
- 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 Lebanon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lebanon County
- Since Shirksville is near Berks County and also Schuylkill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Berks County
- eBird sighting report for Schuylkill 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 Shirksville ...
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.
- Ebenezer
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Fredericksburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Fredericksburg is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredericksburg <2>
- Freeport Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport Mills
- Freeport Mills is located in Lebanon County
- Frystown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Jonestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonestown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
- Jonestown is located in Lebanon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,031 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonestown <2>
- Lickdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Mount Ararat
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Ararat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ararat
- Mount Ararat is located in Lebanon County
- Pansy Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pansy Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy Hill
- Pansy Hill is located in Lebanon County
- Rockwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Sand Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Sunset
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
How Far From Shirksville 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 Shirksville to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Shirksville and extending to:
- Lebanon, which is the Seat of Lebanon County, lies just to the South.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<3> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could walk a straight line from Shirksville to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 110 miles [177 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,807 miles [9,345.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,517 miles [10,488.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,393 miles [7,069.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shirksville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lebanon County: www.lebcounty.org/
The official website for State 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- Shirksville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shirksville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4287, Longitude: -76.4222 In this case, the coordinates for Shirksville 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 Shirksville 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 307.412 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.136 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.84 degrees. |