RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Westmoreland County >> Standard >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Standard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Standard and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Standard:
    • 40.159516, -79.536150
    • 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 Standard
  • 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
    • Since Standard is near Fayette County and also Allegheny County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Allegheny 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 Standard

Communities Also Named Standard ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Standard.

Within Pennsylvania, the name Standard is unique.

Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fifteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Sumter County
      • This Standard is located in Sumter County and lies 722 miles [1,161.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Standard.
      • Walker County
      • This Standard is located in Walker County and lies 615 miles [989.7 km] to the southwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Walker County community of Standard.
    • Alaska
      • This Standard lies 3,145 miles [5,061.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
    • Alberta
      • This Standard lies 1,763 miles [2,837.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
    • California
      • Tuolumne County
      • This Standard is located in Tuolumne County and lies 2,172 miles [3,495.5 km]<1> to the west of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuolumne County community of Standard.
    • Illinois
      • Putnam County
      • This Standard is located in Putnam County and lies 510 miles [820.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of Standard.
    • Indiana
      • Sullivan County
      • This Standard is located in Sullivan County and lies 422 miles [679.1 km]<1> to the west of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Standard.
    • Louisiana
      • La Salle Parish
      • This Standard is located in La Salle Parish and lies 906 miles [1,458.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the La Salle Parish community of Standard.
      • Vernon Parish
      • This Standard is located in Vernon Parish and lies 991 miles [1,594.9 km] to the southwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Vernon Parish community of Standard.
    • Maryland
      • Garrett County
      • This Standard is located in Garrett County and lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garrett County community of Standard.
    • Mississippi
      • Hancock County
      • This Standard is located in Hancock County and lies 863 miles [1,388.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Standard.
    • Missouri
      • DeKalb County
      • Although located in DeKalb County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeKalb County community of Standard.
    • North Carolina
      • Pitt 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 North Carolina community of Standard [Pitt County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Logan 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 Oklahoma community of Standard [Logan County].
    • Texas
      • Grayson 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 Texas community of Standard [Grayson County].
    • West Virginia
      • Kanawha County
      • This Standard is located in Kanawha County and lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Standard that is located in Westmoreland County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kanawha County community of Standard.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Standard ...

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.

  • Alice
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alice is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
  • Buckeye
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Buckeye is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
  • Carpentertown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Carpentertown is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpentertown
  • Central
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Central is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
  • Hawkeye
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
  • Iron Bridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
  • Morewood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Morewood is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morewood
  • Mount Joy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
  • Mount Pleasant
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Orchard Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Orchard Hill is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hill
  • Ridge View
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Ridge View is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge View
  • Rocktown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Rocktown is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocktown
  • Standard Shaft
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Standard Shaft is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard Shaft

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

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

  • Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Standard to Greensburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 140 miles [225.3 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 159 miles [255.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,947 miles [9,570.8 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 4,538 miles [7,303.2 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Standard) 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 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 Standard 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 Standard 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 Standard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1595, Longitude: -79.5362       In this case, the coordinates for Standard have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.319 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.256 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.321 degrees.