Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Festus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Festus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Festus
- 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 Festus:
- 39.470640, -80.287307
- 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 Festus
- 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- Since Festus is near Harrison County and also Taylor County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Harrison County
- eBird sighting report for Taylor 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 Festus ...
We found two communities that share the name Festus.
Within West Virginia, the name Festus is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Missouri
Curious and Interesting Names Near Festus ...
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.
- Big Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Big Run is located in Marion County
- Dixie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Downs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Enterprise
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Harrison County
- Four States
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four States have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four States
- Four States is located in Marion County
- Francis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Helens Run
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helens Run
- Helens Run is located in Marion County
- Highland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Homewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Katy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
- Katy is located in Marion County
- Killarm
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Long Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Oak Grove ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Stringtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Marion County
- Wahoo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Katy
How Far From Festus 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 Festus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Festus and extending to:
- Fairmont, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies just to the East.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 105 miles [169 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Festus to Charleston, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 178 miles [286.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,008 miles [9,668.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,723 miles [10,819.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,599 miles [7,401.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Festus. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Marion County: www.marioncountywv.com/
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Festus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Festus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4706, Longitude: -80.2873 In this case, the coordinates for Festus 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> | 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 Festus to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.809 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.709 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.901 degrees. |