Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gaston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gaston and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gaston
- 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 Gaston:
- 39.008707, -80.394810
- 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 Gaston
- 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 Lewis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lewis County
- Since Gaston is near Upshur County and also Harrison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Upshur County
- eBird sighting report for Harrison 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 Gaston ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Gaston.
There is one other community in West Virginia which is also named Gaston.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In West Virginia ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Sumter County
- This Gaston is located in Sumter County and lies 635 miles [1,021.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Gaston that is located in Lewis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumter County community of Gaston.
- Wilcox 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 Alabama community of Gaston [Wilcox County].
- Arkansas
- California
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Halifax 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 North Carolina community of Gaston [Halifax County].
- Northampton County
- This Gaston is located in Northampton County and lies 229 miles [368.5 km]<1> to the southeast of the Gaston that is located in Lewis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Northampton County community of Gaston.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gaston ...
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.
- Berlin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Deanville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Fisher Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Hill
- Fisher Hill is located in Lewis County
- Georgetown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Lewis County
- Hickory Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Hickory Hills is located in Lewis County
- Homewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Quiet Dale
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quiet Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiet Dale
- Quiet Dale is located in Lewis County
- Shady Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
- Shady Brook is located in Lewis County
How Far From Gaston 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 Gaston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Gaston and extending to:
- Weston, which is the Seat of Lewis County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 80 miles [128.7 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Gaston to Charleston, with an average speed<4>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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 180 miles [289.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,033 miles [9,709.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,747 miles [10,858.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,622 miles [7,438.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gaston. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gaston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gaston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0087, Longitude: -80.3948 In this case, the coordinates for Gaston 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Gaston 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 Gaston 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 309.892 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.734 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.109 degrees. |