RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> McDowell County >> Asco >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Asco, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Asco and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Asco:
    • 37.502057, -81.625941
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Asco
  • 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 McDowell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McDowell County
    • Since Asco is near Wyoming County and also Mingo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wyoming County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mingo 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Asco

Communities Also Named Asco ...

We found one communities that are also named Asco.

Within West Virginia, the name Asco is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, there is another community also named Asco in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Alameda County
      • This Asco is located in Alameda County and lies 2,184 miles [3,514.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Asco that is located in McDowell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alameda County community of Asco.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Asco ...

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.

  • Antler
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Antler is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antler
  • Big Sandy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Sandy is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
  • Davy
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Davy is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
  • Erin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Erin is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
  • Fanny
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
  • Fanrock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fanrock is located in Wyoming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanrock
  • Hemphill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hemphill is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
  • Marine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Marine is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marine
  • Marytown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Marytown is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marytown
  • Premier
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Premier is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Premier
  • Twin Branch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Twin Branch is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Branch
  • Wyoming
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming

How Far From Asco 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 Asco to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Asco and extending to:

  • Welch, which is the Seat of McDowell County, lies just to the South Southeast.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Asco to Charleston, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 266 miles [428.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,151 miles [9,899.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,862 miles [11,043.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,738 miles [7,625.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Asco) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Asco to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Asco. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5021, Longitude: -81.6259       In this case, the coordinates for Asco have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.671 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.399 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.129 degrees.