Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vankirk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vankirk and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vankirk
- 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 Vankirk:
- 40.120905, -80.242839
- 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 Vankirk
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Vankirk is near Greene County and also Allegheny County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Greene County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Vankirk ...
We found one communities that share the name Vankirk.
There is one other community in Pennsylvania which is also named Vankirk.
Beyond Pennsylvania.
- Communities Located In Pennsylvania ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vankirk ...
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.
- Enterprise
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Washington County
- Gabby Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gabby Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabby Heights
- Gabby Heights is located in Washington County
- Green Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hills
- Green Hills is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
- Laboratory
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laboratory
- Laboratory is located in Washington County
- Lincoln Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Hill
- Lincoln Hill is located in Washington County
- Log Pile
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Lone Pine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
- Lone Pine is located in Washington County
- Long Pine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Manifold
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Mount Pleasant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Washington County
- Oak Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Point Lookout
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Lookout have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Lookout
- Point Lookout is located in Washington County
- Prosperity
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosperity have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- Prosperity is located in Washington County
- Sugar Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Sugar Hill is located in Washington County
How Far From Vankirk 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 Vankirk to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Vankirk and extending to:
- Washington, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies just to the North.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 177 miles [284.9 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Vankirk to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 190 miles [305.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,978 miles [9,620.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,695 miles [10,774.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,570 miles [7,354.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vankirk. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Vankirk 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. |
| <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> | 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- Vankirk) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vankirk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1209, Longitude: -80.2428 In this case, the coordinates for Vankirk 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 Vankirk 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 309.754 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.745 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.651 degrees. |