Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thomasdale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thomasdale and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thomasdale
- 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 Thomasdale:
- 40.220631, -79.011972
- 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 Thomasdale
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Somerset County
- Since Thomasdale is near Cambria County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cambria County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thomasdale ...
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 Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Junction
- Coal Junction is located in Somerset County
- Davidsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davidsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsville
- Davidsville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davidsville <2>
- Ferndale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ferndale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Ferndale is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,474 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferndale <2>
- Forwardstown
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forwardstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forwardstown
- Forwardstown is located in Somerset County
- Jenners
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Jenners Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jenners Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jennerstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jennerstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennerstown
- Jennerstown is located in Somerset County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jennerstown <2>
- Jerome
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Jerome Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerome Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome Junction
- Jerome Junction is located in Somerset County
- Maple Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Ridge
- Maple Ridge is located in Somerset County
- Pilltown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Rachelwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rachelwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rachelwood
- Rachelwood is located in Westmoreland County
- Randolph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
How Far From Thomasdale 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 Thomasdale to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Thomasdale and extending to:
- Somerset, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Thomasdale to Somerset, with an average speed<5> 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 four to five hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 112 miles [180.2 km] to the east (E). 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 139 miles [223.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,923 miles [9,532.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,638 miles [10,682.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,513 miles [7,263 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thomasdale. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Somerset County: www.co.somerset.pa.us/
The official website for Commonwealth 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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Thomasdale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thomasdale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2206, Longitude: -79.0120 In this case, the coordinates for Thomasdale have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Thomasdale 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 308.995 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.898 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.065 degrees. |