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 Erin:
37.441501, -81.692610
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.
We found thirteen communities that share the name Erin.
Within West Virginia, the name Erin is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Alabama
Clay County
This Erin is located in Clay County and lies 368 miles [592.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Erin that is located in McDowell County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Erin.
Arkansas
Grant County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Erin [Grant County].
Georgia
Meriwether County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Erin [Meriwether County].
Illinois
Will County
This Erin is located in Will County and lies 447 miles [719.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Erin that is located in McDowell County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Will County community of Erin.
Kansas
Washington County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Erin [Washington County].
Kentucky
Clay County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Erin [Clay County].
Minnesota
Rice County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Erin [Rice County].
New York
Chemung County
This Erin is located in Chemung County and lies 422 miles [679.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Erin that is located in McDowell County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chemung County community of Erin.
Ontario
This Erin lies 445 miles [716.2 km]<1> to the north of the Erin that is located in McDowell County.
Tennessee
Houston County
This Erin is located in Houston County and lies 340 miles [547.2 km]<1> to the west of the Erin that is located in McDowell County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Houston County community of Erin.
Texas
Harris County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Erin [Harris County].
Jasper County
This Erin is located in Jasper County and lies 839 miles [1,350.2 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Erin that is located in McDowell County.
For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jasper County community of Erin.
Wisconsin
Saint Croix County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Erin [Saint Croix County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Erin ...
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.
Antler (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Erin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Erin and extending to:
Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 62 miles [99.8 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Erin to Charleston, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 271 miles [436.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,157 miles [9,908.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,867 miles [11,051.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,743 miles [7,633.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Erin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Erin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4415, Longitude: -81.6926 In this case, the coordinates for Erin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>
If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Erin could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<3>
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.
<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 Erin 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 310.711 degrees.
<7>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.437 degrees.
<8>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.176 degrees.