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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Elkwater:
    • 38.636064, -80.008287
    • 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 Elkwater
  • 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 Elkwater is near Pocahontas County and also Upshur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pocahontas County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Upshur 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 Elkwater

Communities Also Named Elkwater ...

We found one communities that are also named Elkwater.

Within West Virginia, the name Elkwater is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, there is another community also named Elkwater in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alberta
      • This Elkwater lies 1,666 miles [2,681.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Elkwater that is located in Randolph County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elkwater ...

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.

  • Blue Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Rock is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rock
  • Brady Gate
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Brady Gate is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady Gate
  • Burner
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Burner is located in Pocahontas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burner
  • Czar
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Czar is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Czar
  • Durbin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Florence ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Florence is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
  • Huff ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Huff is located in Randolph County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huff
  • Lee Bell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • May
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • May is located in Pocahontas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...

How Far From Elkwater to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Elkwater to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Elkins, which is the Seat of Randolph County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Elkwater 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 most of a day.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 161 miles [259.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,033 miles [9,709.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,745 miles [10,855 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,620 miles [7,435.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elkwater) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Elkwater 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 Elkwater. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6361, Longitude: -80.0083    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.672 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.427 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.07 degrees.