Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Aurora, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Aurora and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Aurora
- 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 Aurora:
- 39.324318, -79.554236
- 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 Aurora
- 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 Preston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Preston County
- Since Aurora is near Garrett County and also Tucker County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Garrett County
- eBird sighting report for Tucker 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 Aurora ...
We found 43 communities that share the name Aurora.
Within West Virginia, the name Aurora is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another 43 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 43 communities, 43 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alaska
- This Aurora lies 3,170 miles [5,101.6 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Brevard County
- This Aurora is located in Brevard County and lies 775 miles [1,247.2 km]<1> to the south of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brevard County community of Aurora.
- Hillsborough County
- This Aurora is located in Hillsborough County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km] to the south southwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Aurora.
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Buchanan County
- This Aurora is located in Buchanan County and lies 673 miles [1,083.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buchanan County community of Aurora.
- Keokuk County
- This Aurora is located in Keokuk County and lies 682 miles [1,097.6 km] to the west northwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Keokuk County community of Aurora.
- Kansas
- Clark County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Clark County].
- Cloud County
- This Aurora is located in Cloud County and lies 957 miles [1,540.1 km]<1> to the west of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cloud County community of Aurora.
- Coffey County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Coffey County].
- Cowley County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Cowley County].
- Jewell County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Jewell County].
- Norton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Norton County].
- Osage County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Aurora [Osage County].
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Saint Louis County
- This Aurora is located in Saint Louis County and lies 849 miles [1,366.3 km]<1> to the northwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Aurora.
- Steele County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Aurora [Steele County].
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Colfax County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Colfax County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Colfax County community of Aurora.
- Mora County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of Aurora [Mora County].
- San Miguel County
- This Aurora is located in San Miguel County and lies 1,447 miles [2,328.7 km]<1> to the west of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Miguel County community of Aurora.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Aurora lies 322 miles [518.2 km]<1> to the north of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Jefferson County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Jefferson County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Aurora.
- Wise County
- This Aurora is located in Wise County and lies 1,087 miles [1,749.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wise County community of Aurora.
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Florence County
- This Aurora is located in Florence County and lies 622 miles [1,001 km]<1> to the northwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Florence County community of Aurora.
- Washington County
- This Aurora is located in Washington County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km] to the northwest of the Aurora that is located in Preston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Aurora.
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Aurora ...
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.
- Amboy
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Breedlove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Erwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Freeport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Horse Shoe Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horse Shoe Run have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Shoe Run
- Horse Shoe Run is located in Preston County
- Red House
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
- Red House is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Salt Lick
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
- Salt Lick is located in Preston County
- Sell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Silver Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Preston County
- Sunnyside
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
How Far From Aurora 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 community such as Aurora to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Aurora and extending to:
- Kingwood, which is the Seat of Preston County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Aurora to Kingwood, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 130 miles [209.2 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 138 miles [222.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,984 miles [9,630.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,697 miles [10,777.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,573 miles [7,359.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Aurora. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.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 from Point A (ie- Aurora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aurora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3243, Longitude: -79.5542 |
| <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 Aurora 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Aurora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Aurora 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 309.37 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.188 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.632 degrees. |