Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Defoe, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Defoe and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Defoe
- 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 Defoe:
- 38.547326, -80.576201
- 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 Defoe
- 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 Webster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Webster County
- Since Defoe is near Braxton County and also Nicholas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Braxton County
- eBird sighting report for Nicholas 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 Defoe ...
We found one communities that share the name Defoe.
Within West Virginia, the name Defoe is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, there is another community also named Defoe in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Defoe ...
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.
- Bakers Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bakers Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Big Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Boggs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Diana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Fishers Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishers Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishers Crossing
- Fishers Crossing is located in Webster County
- Guardian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Halo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Holly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Little Birch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Skidmore Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skidmore Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skidmore Crossing
- Skidmore Crossing is located in Webster County
- Tesla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Thrash ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Waggy ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
How Far From Defoe 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 Defoe to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Defoe once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Defoe and extending to:
- Webster Springs, which is the Seat of Webster County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Defoe to Webster Springs, 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 58 miles [93.3 km] to the west southwest (WSW). 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 192 miles [309 km] to the east (E). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,061 miles [9,754.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,773 miles [10,900.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,649 miles [7,481.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
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 '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- Defoe) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Defoe. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5473, Longitude: -80.5762 In this case, the coordinates for Defoe 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> | 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 Defoe, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Defoe 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 310.017 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.807 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.344 degrees. |