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Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Wilkes-Barre, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wilkes-Barre 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 Wilkes-Barre:
    • 41.245369, -75.881279
    • 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 Wilkes-Barre
  • 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 Wilkes-Barre ...

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.

  • Buttonwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buttonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttonwood
    • Buttonwood is located in Luzerne County
  • Edwardsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edwardsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
    • Edwardsville is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,738 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwardsville <2>
  • Forty Fort
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forty Fort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forty Fort
    • Forty Fort is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,025 people
  • Fox Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hill
    • Fox Hill is located in Luzerne County
  • Georgetown
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
    • Georgetown is located in Luzerne County
  • Gregory
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
    • Gregory is located in Luzerne County
  • Larksville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larksville
    • Larksville is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,395 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Larksville <2>
  • Laurel Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Park
    • Lee Park is located in Luzerne County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Miners Mills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Mills
      • Miners Mills is located in Luzerne County
    • Parsons
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parsons have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
      • Parsons is located in Luzerne County
    • Plains
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains
      • Plains is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plains <2>
    • Plainsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsville
      • Plainsville is located in Luzerne County
    • Plymouth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Pringle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pringle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pringle
      • Pringle is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 913 people

How Far From Wilkes-Barre 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 city such as Wilkes-Barre to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Wilkes-Barre and extending to:

  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 84 miles [135.2 km]<3> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Wilkes-Barre to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 173 miles [278.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,750 miles [9,253.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,463 miles [10,401.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,338 miles [6,981.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>

The official website for Wilkes-Barre: www.wilkes-barre.pa.us/

The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/

The official website for State 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wilkes-Barre) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wilkes-Barre. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2454, Longitude: -75.8813    
<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 Wilkes-Barre 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 307.014 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.814 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.257 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024