Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vista, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vista and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vista
- 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 Vista:
- 40.278403, -79.795323
- 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 Vista
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
- Since Vista is near Allegheny County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Vista ...
We found nineteen communities that share the name Vista.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Vista is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another nineteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these nineteen communities, eighteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Florida
- Iowa
- Manitoba
- This Vista lies 1,232 miles [1,982.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Vista that is located in Westmoreland County.
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Flathead County
- This Vista is located in Flathead County and lies 1,781 miles [2,866.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Vista that is located in Westmoreland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Flathead County community of Vista.
- Lewis and Clark County
- This Vista is located in Lewis and Clark County and lies 1,642 miles [2,642.5 km] to the west northwest of the Vista that is located in Westmoreland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis and Clark County community of Vista.
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vista ...
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.
- Alpsville
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Boston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
- Boston is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boston <4>
- Cereal
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Circleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Circleville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circleville
- Circleville is located in Westmoreland County
- Dick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Eden Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Emblem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Herminie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herminie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herminie
- Herminie is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herminie <4>
- Industry
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Keystone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Liberty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Lincoln
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Continue List (4 more) ...
- Lovedale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Mustard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Robbins
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Sunset Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Valley
- Sunset Valley is located in Westmoreland County
- Lovedale
How Far From Vista 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 Vista to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vista and extending to:
- Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Vista to Greensburg, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 153 miles [246.2 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 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 175 miles [281.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,952 miles [9,578.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,670 miles [10,734.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,545 miles [7,314.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vista. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Westmoreland County: www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
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 from Point A (ie- Vista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2784, Longitude: -79.7953 In this case, the coordinates for Vista have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Vista 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Vista 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 309.471 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.448 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.393 degrees. |