RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Randolph County >> Dryfork >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Dryfork, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dryfork and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Dryfork:
    • 38.969605, -79.502852
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Dryfork
  • 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 Randolph County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Randolph County
    • Since Dryfork is near Tucker County and also Pendleton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tucker County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pendleton 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Dryfork

Communities Also Named Dryfork ...

We found two communities that are also named Dryfork.

Within West Virginia, the name Dryfork is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Carroll County
      • This Dryfork is located in Carroll County and lies 788 miles [1,268.2 km]<1> to the west of the Dryfork that is located in Randolph County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Dryfork.
    • Kentucky
      • Barren County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Barren County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Barren County community of Dryfork.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dryfork ...

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.

  • Elk
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Evenwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Job
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Job is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Job
  • Laneville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Laneville is located in Tucker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laneville
  • Lime Rock ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lime Rock is located in Tucker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Rock
  • Mill Run ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill Run is located in Tucker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Run
  • Perlytown ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Perlytown is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perlytown
  • Stringtown ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Stringtown is located in Tucker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
  • Wyoming ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wyoming is located in Tucker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming

How Far From Dryfork 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 Dryfork to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Dryfork and extending to:

  • Elkins, which is the Seat of Randolph County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Dryfork to Elkins, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 122 miles [196.3 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 132 miles [212.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,998 miles [9,652.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,709 miles [10,797.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,585 miles [7,378.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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- Dryfork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Dryfork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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.
<4>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 Dryfork to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dryfork. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9696, Longitude: -79.5029    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.355 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.116 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.736 degrees.