Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bretz, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bretz and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bretz
- 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 Bretz:
- 39.542306, -79.800614
- 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 Bretz
- 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 Bretz is near Monongalia County and also Taylor County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monongalia County
- eBird sighting report for Taylor 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 Bretz ...
We found one communities that share the name Bretz.
There is one other community in West Virginia which is also named Bretz.
Beyond West Virginia.
- Communities Located In West Virginia ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bretz ...
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.
- Bull Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Cascade
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Gum Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Spring
- Gum Spring is located in Monongalia County
- Herring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Hog Eye
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Kanes Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kanes Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanes Creek
- Kanes Creek is located in Preston County
- Kingwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingwood
- Kingwood is located in Preston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kingwood <3>
- Masontown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masontown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masontown
- Masontown is located in Preston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Masontown <3>
- 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 Preston County
- Oriole ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Pioneer Rocks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer Rocks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Rocks
- Pioneer Rocks is located in Monongalia County
- Reedsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsville
- Reedsville is located in Preston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reedsville <3>
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Richard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Ridgedale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Rock Forge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Forge
- Rock Forge is located in Monongalia County
- Rockville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Threefork Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Threefork Bridge
- Threefork Bridge is located in Preston County
- Richard
How Far From Bretz 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 Bretz to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bretz and extending to:
- Kingwood, which is the Seat of Preston County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 128 miles [206 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Bretz to Charleston, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 154 miles [247.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,985 miles [9,631.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,699 miles [10,781 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,575 miles [7,362.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bretz. 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- Bretz) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bretz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5423, Longitude: -79.8006 In this case, the coordinates for Bretz 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 Bretz 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 309.51 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.38 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.662 degrees. |