Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blue Jay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Jay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blue Jay
- 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 Blue Jay:
- 37.737060, -81.137876
- 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 Blue Jay
- 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 Raleigh County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Raleigh County
- Since Blue Jay is near Fayette County and also Mercer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- eBird sighting report for Mercer 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 Blue Jay ...
We found four communities that share the name Blue Jay.
Within West Virginia, the name Blue Jay is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Blue Jay lies 1,881 miles [3,027.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Blue Jay that is located in Raleigh County.
- California
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blue Jay ...
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.
- Affinity
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Beaver
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Beaver is located in Raleigh County
- Former name for Beaver:
- Glen Hedrick
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver <3>
- Cedar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Cherry Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Cherry Creek is located in Raleigh County
- Clifftop
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Coal City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Cool Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cool Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Ridge
- Cool Ridge is located in Raleigh County
- Crab Orchard
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
- Crab Orchard is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <3>
- Crow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Daniels
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daniels have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels
- Daniels is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daniels <3>
- Johnstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Shady Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Spring
- Shady Spring is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shady Spring <3>
- Spangler Factory ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spangler Factory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler Factory
- Spangler Factory is located in Raleigh County
- Woodpeck
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Blue Jay 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 Blue Jay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Blue Jay and extending to:
- Beckley, which is the Seat of Raleigh County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 49 miles [78.9 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Blue Jay to Charleston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 236 miles [379.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,120 miles [9,849.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,831 miles [10,993.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,707 miles [7,575.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blue Jay. 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Jay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Jay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7371, Longitude: -81.1379 In this case, the coordinates for Blue Jay 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 Blue Jay 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 310.374 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.095 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.849 degrees. |