Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cool Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cool Ridge and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cool Ridge
- 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 Cool Ridge:
- 37.658172, -81.095651
- 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 Cool Ridge
- 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 Cool Ridge is near Mercer County and also Summers County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- eBird sighting report for Summers 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Cool Ridge ...
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.
- Beaver
(6 miles [9.7 km] 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 <1>
- Blue Jay
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Cherry Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- 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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Coal City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Crow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Daniels
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- 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 <1>
- Flat Top
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Top have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
- Flat Top is located in Mercer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flat Top <1>
- Jonben
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Josephine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Jumping Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Lego
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Continue List (9 more) ...
- Lillybrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lillybrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillybrook
- Lillybrook is located in Raleigh County
- Odd
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Pluto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Princewick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
- Princewick is located in Raleigh County
- Shady Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Spring
- Shady Spring is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shady Spring <1>
- Spangler Factory ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- 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
- Streeter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Suck Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Suck Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suck Creek
- Suck Creek is located in Summers County
- Woodpeck
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lillybrook
How Far From Cool Ridge 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 Cool Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Cool Ridge and extending to:
- Beckley, which is the Seat of Raleigh County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Cool Ridge to Beckley, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 55 miles [88.5 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 236 miles [379.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving 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 6,122 miles [9,852.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,832 miles [10,995 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,708 miles [7,576.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cool Ridge. 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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- Cool Ridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cool Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6582, Longitude: -81.0957 In this case, the coordinates for Cool Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Cool Ridge 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 310.35 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.056 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.857 degrees. |