RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Springs 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 Springs:
    • 39.733693, -79.149196
    • 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 Springs
  • 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
    • Since Springs is near Garrett County and also Allegany County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Garrett County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Allegany 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 Springs

Communities Also Named Springs ...

We found nine communities that are also named Springs.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Springs is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Humboldt County
      • This Springs is located in Humboldt County and lies 2,340 miles [3,765.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Springs that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Humboldt County community of Springs.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Springs is located in Hillsborough County and lies 826 miles [1,329.3 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Springs that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Springs.
    • Georgia
      • Clayton County
      • This Springs is located in Clayton County and lies 518 miles [833.6 km]<1> to the southwest of the Springs that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clayton County community of Springs.
    • Kansas
      • Brown County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Springs [Brown County].
      • Labette County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Springs [Labette County].
    • Massachusetts
      • Barnstable County
      • This Springs is located in Barnstable County and lies 474 miles [762.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Springs that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barnstable County community of Springs.
    • New York
      • Saratoga County
      • This Springs is located in Saratoga County and lies 358 miles [576.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Springs that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saratoga County community of Springs.
      • Suffolk County
      • This Springs is located in Suffolk County and lies 378 miles [608.3 km] to the east northeast of the Springs that is located in Somerset County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suffolk County community of Springs.
    • South Dakota
      • Potter County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Dakota community of Springs [Potter County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Springs ...

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.

  • Coal Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Coal Run is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
  • Grantsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Hi-Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hi-Point is located in Garrett County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hi-Point
  • High Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • High Point is located in Garrett County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
  • Jennings
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jennings is located in Garrett County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
  • New Germany
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • New Germany is located in Garrett County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Germany
  • Piney Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Piney Grove is located in Garrett County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
  • Romania
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Romania is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romania
  • Salisbury
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Savage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Savage is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage
  • Summit Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills

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

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

  • Somerset, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Springs to Somerset, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 125 miles [201.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). 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 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 126 miles [202.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,950 miles [9,575.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,663 miles [10,723.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,539 miles [7,304.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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- Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Springs 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Springs 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 Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7337, Longitude: -79.1492       In this case, the coordinates for Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.105 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.948 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.307 degrees.