Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Olean, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Olean and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Olean
- 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 Olean:
- 37.390679, -80.659513
- 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 Olean
- 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 Giles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Giles County
- Since Olean is near Monroe County and also Logan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- eBird sighting report for Logan 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 Olean ...
We found five communities that share the name Olean.
Within Virginia, the name Olean is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Colfax County
- This Olean is located in Colfax County and lies 915 miles [1,472.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Olean that is located in Giles County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colfax County community of Olean.
- Valley County
- This Olean is located in Valley County and lies 1,007 miles [1,620.6 km] to the west northwest of the Olean that is located in Giles County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Valley County community of Olean.
- New York
Curious and Interesting Names Near Olean ...
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.
- Assurance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Bluff City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Gray Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Sulphur Springs
- Gray Sulphur Springs is located in Giles County
- Maybrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Mountain Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Mountain View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Giles County
- Peterstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterstown
- Peterstown is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 617 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peterstown <3>
- Rich Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Rich Creek is located in Giles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 738 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rich Creek <3>
- Ripplemead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ripplemead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripplemead
- Ripplemead is located in Giles County
- Rock Camp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Staytide ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
How Far From Olean 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 Olean to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Olean and extending to:
- Pearisburg, which is the Seat of Giles County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 176 miles [283.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Olean to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about 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 222 miles [357.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,116 miles [9,842.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,823 miles [10,980.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,700 miles [7,563.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Olean. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Giles County: www.gilescounty.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Olean) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olean. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3907, Longitude: -80.6595 In this case, the coordinates for Olean 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> | 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 Olean 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 310.095 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.725 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.76 degrees. |