Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swatara, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swatara and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swatara
- 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 Swatara:
- 40.276757, -76.666358
- 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 Swatara
- 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 Dauphin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dauphin County
- Since Swatara is near Lebanon County and also Lancaster County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lebanon County
- eBird sighting report for Lancaster 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
Communities Also Named Swatara ...
We found two communities that share the name Swatara.
There is one other community in Pennsylvania which is also named Swatara.
Beyond Pennsylvania, there is another community also named Swatara in the United States.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swatara ...
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.
- Gravel Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
- Gravel Hill is located in Lebanon County
- Hershey
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hershey
- Hershey is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hershey <3>
- High Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Ridge
- High Ridge is located in Dauphin County
- Hillymeade
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillymeade have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillymeade
- Hillymeade is located in Dauphin County
- Hockersville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hockersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hockersville
- Hockersville is located in Dauphin County
- Hummelstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hummelstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hummelstown
- Hummelstown is located in Dauphin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,814 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hummelstown <3>
- Plainville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Plainville is located in Lebanon County
- Pleasant View
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pleasant View is located in Dauphin County
- Sand Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Beach
- Sand Beach is located in Dauphin County
- Sandhill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Union Deposit
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union Deposit. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
How Far From Swatara 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 Swatara to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swatara and extending to:
- Harrisburg, which is the Seat of Dauphin County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Swatara to Harrisburg, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 11 miles [17.7 km] to the west (W). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 97 miles [156.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,824 miles [9,372.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,534 miles [10,515.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,409 miles [7,095.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Swatara. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Swatara) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swatara. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2768, Longitude: -76.6664 In this case, the coordinates for Swatara have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Swatara to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.571 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.292 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.009 degrees. |